The Fox and His Lady
by RicochetXD
Summary: Nathanael loves Marinette. Marinette loves Adrien. Adrien loves Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette. Things couldn't be more complicated for poor Nathanael, until they suddenly are. And when a tiny fox is telling you to save the girl you love, how can you possibly say no?
1. Chapter 1: Clever Boy

I used to think that there was nothing in the world so perfect as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She was funny, beautiful, sweet, and incredibly smart.

She was clumsy, but at the same time, there was a fire in her eyes, a passion that couldn't be matched.

I used to think that she was a goddess, divine in her own right.

I wasn't wrong.

I thought I knew her, every facet of her personality, everything that made her laugh and cry.

Her favorite color, her favorite book, her favorite designer and the career path she wanted; I knew it all.

And I loved her for it.

I thought I knew who she was.

 _That_ is where I made my mistake.

"Out of my way, carrots," I heard a snide voice say behind me.

I instinctively moved on command, pressing up against a desk, my sketchbook tight against my chest to avoid touching Chloe. She brushed past me, walking to her desk without a backwards glance and sitting down.

"Ugh," she said to Sabrina. "I can't believe we have to deal with people like that. I mean, red hair? Ever heard of hair dye?"

Sabrina flushed in embarrassment. "Well, yes, Chloe but-"

"Exactly," Chloe said, running over her ginger-haired friend. "Something so unsightly on a boy of all people…"

I swallowed hard, making my way up to my desk, drawing the chair out and putting my sketchbook down on the smooth surface.

"Hey," Juleka's voice came from beside me, her hand resting on my shoulder. "You okay?"

"Fine," I said, sitting down. "It's not anything unusual," I added in a mutter.

"Don't let Chloe get to you," she said in a soothing voice. "You remember last time…"

How could I forget? "Yeah," I said with a sigh, forcing myself to calm down.

"Alya, wait up!"

I glanced towards the front of the classroom, where Marinette was just making her way inside.

It was like magic. Every time I heard her voice, my heart began to race, my brain buzzing with random fantasies involving just the two of us together in some romantic setting. Honestly, all I wanted to do was run my fingers through her silky black hair and kiss those soft, pink lips-

"Earth to Nathanael," Juleka said, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry," I said. "What was that?"

She sighed. "I was asking how that Ladybug comic was coming along. You seemed pretty intense about it yesterday."

I flushed. "It's…" I glanced back down at Marinette and my heart was immediately running away from me again. "Amazing…"

"You have it bad," Juleka noticed. "Why don't you just talk to her?"

I waved her off. "Why don't you tell Rose how you feel?"

She blushed.

"Exactly," I said, mimicking Chloe's high pitched tones.

Juleka rolled her eyes. "Okay. But at least I _talk_ to Rose. She's my best friend."

I didn't respond to that. I couldn't tell her why I wouldn't talk to Marinette. It wasn't that I couldn't-well, maybe a little bit that I couldn't-but I wasn't stupid. I saw the way that she looked at Adrien Agreste. He was her whole world. She loved him every bit as much as I loved her. I wouldn't interfere with that.

Ms. Bustier entered the classroom last. "Good morning, students," she said.

"Morning, Ms. Bustier," the class chorused.

"Now," she said. "As you know, today is a very special day. It's been six months since Ladybug and Chat Noir have been guarding our city. And in celebration, the mayor has declared a celebration taking place after dark tonight." She leaned her hands back against her desk. "So we only have a half day of school. While we're here, I've decided that we could have our own celebration."

" _Yes_!" Kim shouted, his fingers drumming on the desk.

"Calm down, Kim," said with a small smile. "Since I sprung this on you, I only thought it fair that I bring some snacks along. They should arrive around ten in the morning, so until then have fun talking to yourselves or whatever it is you want to do."

I immediately opened up my sketchbook, pulling out my pencil.

"Whoa there," Juleka said. "Before you go off to your own world, maybe you should talk to your friends, right?"

"You can go on without me," I said in response, putting the graphite to the paper.

"Nath," Juleka put her hand over my sketchbook. "I'm worried about you. I know you're shy but… this is unusual, even for you."

I glanced down at Marinette, watching her clumsily try to strike up conversation with Adrien. My green-eyed classmate just looked at her with confusion. It was the same look that he usually wore when she was going on about how amazing he was and it bothered me, if I was going to be honest. He didn't know what he had… at least not like this.

"It's nothing," I said. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

She followed my gaze and sighed. "I get it. But you should really make a move before Adrien gets smart. I think the two of you… you'd be good together."

I gave a bitter laugh in response to that. "Not a popular thought."

Most of the class was waiting for Adrien and Marinette to get together. There was even a wager on how long it would take. It seemed like a certainty.

I mean, how could I of all people measure up to either of them?

"Well then maybe everyone else is wrong," Juleka said.

"I don't think so," I muttered, brushing her hand aside and sketching some more.

Juleka leaned over my shoulder. "Marinette as Ladybug?" she asked, her eyebrow quirking.

My stomach dropped and I covered the sketch quickly. "It's just a doodle," I said. "There's nothing to it."

She laughed a little. "You've really got it bad if you're making your crush into some kind of superhero." She sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Whatever. I'm going to go talk to Rose. Join us when you feel up for it." She pushed back from her seat and stood up, her brown eyes alight with mirth as she walked away.

I turned my attention back towards my drawing, gazing at it a moment.

It wasn't surprising they didn't get it. Practically no one did.

I used to think that there was nothing in the world so perfect as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

I wasn't wrong.

Because, more than being funny, or sweet, or clever, Marinette was brave. And I knew it.

I knew her.

And that meant that I had recognized her the instant I'd met her after that whole akuma fiasco.

The way she stood, the way she'd breathed, the way she'd asked me if I was okay before running off.

It was all her, my Marinette.

And that's why I was carrying a secret no one else could know.

Marinette was Ladybug.


	2. Chapter 2: A Party of One

_"I love you," she whispered to me, leaning in close, her lips brushing against my ear._

 _I shivered, leaning back in my seat. "L-Ladybug…" I gasped._

 _"I love you," she repeated._

 _"What about Chat Noir?" I asked, gazing into her bluebell eyes._

 _She smiled softly. "He doesn't know me like you do," she said. "He doesn't know who I really am."_

"I know who you are…" I murmured, leaning in closer to the drawing.

"Hey, Nath? Are you okay?" I heard a voice interrupt me.

I looked down to see Ivan, turned in his seat, looking up at me.

"U-ugh… fine… " I said, blushing. How much of that did he hear?How much was I saying out loud?

"You were muttering pretty intensely to yourself," Ivan noted. "Didn't know you were such a big Ladybug fan." He paused. "You and Adrien have a lot in common, you know?"

"I-It was just me getting… " I paused. "I… I was thinking about how it would be if, you know, Chat Noir and… "

"Dude, it's cool," Ivan said. "Just… you've been by yourself for the past two hours. Maybe want to hang out with the rest of us?"

"N-no," I said, pulling my sketchbook close. "I'm fine."

Crowds made me uncomfortable, even if I knew everyone here. Why couldn't they understand that? Juleka, Ivan, Mylene… someone was always interrupting me, making sure I "fit in" but all I really wanted to do was draw my comic in peace. If I couldn't be with Marinette for real, then why couldn't I at least have this?

"Dude, you're always by yourself," Ivan said. "Like I mean always. Juleka used to be your lab partner but now it seems like you don't really have any friends. Not since…"

"Juleka and I are fine," I said, though I knew what he was talking about. "I just… she'd rather be with Rose… "

Ivan snorted. "I know when you're making excuses. I've sat in front of you all semester."

"Seriously," I insisted. "I just…" How to make it not sound bad? "I don't like talking to people," I finished lamely.

"You're antisocial," Ivan asserted. "That's not news to _anyone_ in class. But after the Evillustrator thing, you've been a lot more withdrawn. It's really bugging me. I mean, after you're akumatized, most people go back to normal."

"Most people don't remember it," I muttered.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, raising his voice a little.

"Nothing," I said in response, looking back down at my drawing.

"So, uh," he said. "Marinette. Have you talked to her at all recently?"

"No more than usual," I muttered.

"So basically not at all," he said in response. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because I'm shy and I don't talk to people when I can avoid it?" I offered in a quiet tone.

"Yeah, something like that," he said.

I shut up then. I really didn't want to keep talking to Ivan more than necessary. I could feel myself getting drained by just this small amount of dialogue. Things were a lot simpler in my comics. People were a lot less complicated than they seemed to be in real life.

"Nath, Nathanael," he poked my arm repeatedly, trying to get my attention.

I ignored him as well as I could, but there wasn't really much I could do.

"Why don't you bother Mylene?" I asked in a low growl.

"Because I'm bothering you," he said in an amused response.

"But I bet she would enjoy being bothered by you a lot more than I do," I said.

"I can't leave you alone," he said. "You've been alone all morning. It's nearly time for 's food to get here."

"I'm fine," I insisted.

Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

Wait, that's right. Because he was my friend.

It was lame how friends worked.

"Hey, can I read your comic?" he asked, reaching for it.

I instinctively pulled back hard, keeping it out of his hands, panic rising in my chest. "No," I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it's mine," I said in response.

People didn't understand. Just because I drew something didn't mean I wanted everyone to see. Comics to me were like diaries were to other people. My innermost thoughts went into them.

"But I really wanna see it," he insisted, reaching out for it again, this time getting his hands on it, snatching it away from my grip.

"Hey! Give it back!" I said.

"I'm just going to take a sec," he said, opening it up.

"Give it back!" I said in a louder voice. He maneuvered his body to block me, turning the pages.

"This is really good stuff," he said in what was probably meant to be a compliment.

However, it felt like he was punching me in the gut, panic rising in my throat as he turned the pages, one after another after another after another.

"Just _give it back_!" I roared, yanking on the notebook, pulling it out of his startled hands.

I suddenly became aware of a million eyes on me, staring me down.

"I…" I squeaked in surprise. What was there for me to say? I…

I pulled the sketchbook tight to my chest and then took off, pushing through the classroom and running towards the door.

"Nath-" Juleka's startled voice came but I slammed the door behind me then took off at a sprint.

What had I just done? Yelling like that in the middle of class? That wasn't like me…

I ran towards the basketball court, quickly hiding under the stairs in the back. I pulled my sketchbook close, hugging my knees against my chest. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take deep, even breaths.

It was going to be okay. It really was. It wasn't like my whole class was going to hate me for one silly outburst, right?

Maybe. Maybe they would…

Maybe…

 _Stop it!_ I internally scolded myself. _This type of thinking is what landed you as the Evillustrator to begin with!_

I needed to maintain control. I couldn't let what happened last time I got this upset happen again. I just couldn't.

"Nathanael?" I heard a sweet voice call for me suddenly.

Oh God, why did it have to be her who came to find me?

"Hey, Nath?" she asked, a little unsure, looking around. "It's Marinette? I just want to talk…"

My heart clenched painfully and I pulled myself a little tighter.

 _Please just walk by…_ I prayed silently.

"Nath…" she walked around to the other side of the stairs, then noticed me. Marinette knelt down in front of me, giving me a reassuringly sweet smile. "I didn't know you had quite the temper," she said with a lighthearted lit to her voice.

I was not amused.

Her smiled fell. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked in a soft voice, scooting in close. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," I muttered, looking away.

Soft fingers touched my face, pulling my attention back towards her. "Nathanael…" she said in a soft voice. "You know I'm here for you, right? You're my friend."

Friend. It was probably the word I hated the most coming from her mouth.

"I'm okay," I said, pushing her hand aside. "I promise. I just… I didn't want Ivan to see… "

"See what?" she asked.

For anyone else, I would have just left it at that. I wouldn't talk about it, I wouldn't open up. I wouldn't say anything. But this was Marinette, the girl I loved more than anything.

"I… he wanted to see my comic," I mumbled.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" she asked in that sickeningly sweet voice.

She was like poison to me.

"Uh… sure," I said, mechanically unfolding myself and handing her my sketchbook.

It was like slow motion. Her face went from amusement, to surprise, to absolute shock in a matter of seconds.

"Y-you know this is r-ridiculous, right?" she said, giving a nervous laugh. "There's no way that-"

"I know," I said. "It's impossible right? You're not some superhero. But I do like drawing you like this...if that's okay?" I felt the lie coming out of my mouth, but I could tell from her face how much it disturbed her that someone else knew. And I couldn't do that to her.

"Y-yes," she said, relief clearly entering her eyes. "Yes of course. It's… it's fine," she assured me, closing the sketchbook.

I didn't quite know if she believed my lie. But she looked like she wanted to. Like she really wanted to. Because the alternative…

The alternative that I knew what she was hiding was pretty frightening.

It was frightening for me too.


	3. Chapter 3: Strange Happenings

When I got home after school, I immediately fell into bed, all the shame and embarrassment pulling at my soul.

I curled up into a ball, pulling a pillow over my face.

That wasn't supposed to be how it went, at all.

I was supposed to be able to just laugh off whatever had happened and pretend that everything was normal.

But it had gone something a lot closer to this:

 _"Nathanael!" Juleka shouted, running towards me and latching on, her eyes wide. "Are you okay? Everyone's been worried about you!"_

 _"I'm fine, I promise," I said._

 _"You've been saying that a while," Ivan noted. "But I don't see why looking at your comic was such a big deal."_

 _"It was personal," Marinette said suddenly, interjected into the whole affair. "It was rude to just take something like that from him when he clearly didn't want you to look at it."_

 _"Well it's just what friends do," Ivan said in response. "Sorry if I'm stepping on anyone's toes."_

 _"Friends don't violate boundaries!" Marinette declared in a Ladybug-like voice._

Okay, so maybe that's not how it actually went, but it'd be a lot more dramatic if it had come down to it. Ladybug herself, defending my honor in front of the horrible sketchbook-snatching classmates.

More accurately, when I came back into the room, there had been silence.

Dead silence.

No one had asked what had happened or where I'd been or if I was okay. Instead, everyone had just shut up.

I could tell they'd been talking about me.

And without anyone initiating conversation, my excuses, apologies, and nervous laughter turned into an illusion I could only wish for.

No one talked to me for the rest of the day.

I'd gotten my wish.

And I couldn't be more miserable.

I pulled out my cellphone and checked for messages, but I saw nothing.

Typically around this time of day, Juleka would text me to ask what was up, but there was nothing. Just more silence.

"It's like they're all waiting for me to get akumatized again," I muttered, burying my head back in my pillow.

"Who are waiting for you to get akumatized?" a tiny voice spoke up.

"Everyone in class," I muttered. "Though I don't know if anyone can get akumatized twice…"

"It can happen," the voice assured me. "Though it's unlikely."

It was in that moment that I realized the voice I was hearing wasn't another one of my imaginings. It was a real, actual voice that I was hearing with my real, actual ears.

I raised my head just a bit and saw a small, fox like shape.

"What the…?"

"Hello, Nathanael!" the small creature squeaked in a too happy voice. 'My name's Vall. And I'm your kwami."

I shot up into a sitting position, staring at the small creature, my jaw working but no sound coming out. "I… uh… ee…"

"Easy there," the little creature said, floating towards my face. "Take a deep breath. I promise, I'll wait for you to process."

"Wh-what are you?" I asked in a stricken tone of voice.

"I'm a kwami," she said, sounding a little put out. " _Your_ kwami, I might add. The old man brought me here!"

"I don't… what are you doing here? Are you some kind of alien?" I reached out a finger to poke the little creature, but she put soft paws on my hand, pushing it down.

"No, no no. Nothing like that," she assured me. "I guess you could say I'm…" she considered. "Like a pocket-sized goddess. Small, portable, and extremely dangerous!" She flashed tiny fangs to demonstrate. "And I chose you as the next fox."

"I don't understand."

"Ugh. I don't see what you don't get." She rolled her eyes then drifted down to my phone, touching the keyboard and bringing up pictures of Chat Noir and Ladybug. "You're like them, get it? You're going to be a superhero."

My heart stopped. "Like Ladybug?"

"Well, maybe not quite like Ladybug, but close," she said, nodding vigorously. "First though…" She zoomed through the air towards a little box on my drawing desk. "You need to take your miraculous. Or I can't really form a bond with you."

I got up slowly, approaching with caution. I glanced up at her then reached out, opening the octogonal shape to reveal a small pendant on a chain.

"This looks like Lila's necklace," I commented.

Vall shrugged. "It is," she said. "Kinda. I mean, her necklace is a replica of this. But she was never chosen like you were. Even if she got her hands on my miraculous, she wouldn't make a very good fox." She rolled her eyes. "I can't _believe_ the old man was scouting her out before you. Most my users are male. It's weird he didn't think of that first."

I picked it up, finding the chain wasn't full-sized like Lila's. Instead, this was like a bracelet. It would fit a little loosely around my narrow wrist, but it definitely couldn't fit around anyone's neck.

The kwami seemed to get excited the moment I picked it up, zooming around the room to land on my shoulder. "You're taking this rather well," she commented. "I expected a lot more "ah! Save me! It's a flying fox baby!" but you're pretty chill."

"I'm an artist," I said in response as if that was all she needed to know. I put it back down, though. "I don't think I'm the one you want for this. I mean, yeah, it's pretty cool that you chose me and stuff, but I… I'm not… "

"You don't deal with people very well," she said as if she already knew. "I get it. Look, it's okay that you're shy. Shy and clever aren't mutually exclusive."

"Clever?" I asked sharply.

She hummed. "Clever. All my users absolutely _have_ to be clever. My abilities are… unpredictable at best. They're absolutely useless for someone that can't think on their feet."

"Well then you _definitely_ got the wrong person. I'm not clever. I don't even think I'm cut out to be a hero. I'm the Evillustrator, the villain. No hero would have gotten akumatized like that!"

"Hey," she said. "It's okay. People make mistakes. You certainly are clever. And creative. You figured out Ladybug's secret identity when no one else has, right? Wouldn't you call that clever?"

"I'm in love with her," I said sharply. "That's a little different."

"Chat Noir is in love with her too," Vall pointed out. "He hasn't even gotten close to figuring it out."

"He probably doesn't even know her as a civilian…" I said, then stopped myself short.

That was untrue.

I knew for a fact that Chat Noir always appeared just as quickly as Ladybug when our school was in danger. When Mylene became a monster, he'd already been at the college even though we were trapped inside.

I'd been thinking so much about Marinette, I forgot about the obvious.

She wasn't the only one in my class who disappeared whenever things got serious, and she wasn't the only one who was never quite there when their alter was.

"But that's… " I murmured, lost in thought.

"Clever," Vall said with a smug look on her face.

"Shut up," I growled in response. And then the absurdity of it suddenly made me laugh.

"I can't believe it!" I said. "But she's in love with him and he's in love with her and…" I trailed off. "I literally have no chance, do I?"

"Sorry kid," Vall said, not unsympathetically. "Chat Noir and Ladybug have always been together throughout history. They're made for each other. Even if they hadn't become superheros, they'd probably have inevitably fallen in love. You can't defy fate."

I tasted bile in my mouth, but what she said made sense. My heart would always belong to Marinette, but her heart was Adrien's. And his heart was also hers. There was just no place in that neat little picture for me.

"I still don't think I'm right for the job," I said in a low voice, looking away from the little fox creature.

"Hmph," she said. "Look, Nathanael. I really don't want to press the point if you don't feel comfortable with it, but Marinette is in a lot of danger, okay? And she needs your help."

"She has Chat Noir," I said in almost a bitter tone of voice. "She doesn't need me."

"The Old Man would beg to disagree," Vall said, crossing her arms. "And I'm not in a position to disagree. With every akuma, even though Hawk Moth has failed to obtain the miraculous, he's become more powerful. He wouldn't keep doing a method that didn't work if it didn't serve him in some way. That's just plain insanity." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Chat Noir won't be able to cope before very long. The two of them are already reaching their limit. They need help. And you are the only one that can help them. You're the only one that can save Ladybug."

"I…" I trailed off, unable to respond. Marinette needed me? Chat Noir couldn't keep her safe?

This was news to me.

"So then what do you want me to do?" I demanded, looking her in the eye.

"That's simple," Vall said. "I need you to become the Fox and protect her."

"How?" I asked.

"Put on the miraculous," she symbolized the bracelet.

I hesitated a moment before doing what she said, strapping the bracelet around my wrist, doubling up the chain so it fit semi-correctly. The fox-tail pendant hung loosely down into my palm.

 _It'll get in my way_ I thought with apprehension. I didn't need some dangly piece of jewelry close to my art. And the tail would probably hook on the paper way too much.

"Okay, what now?" I asked.

"When you're ready," she said. "Say "Fox Trick". I'll enter the miraculous and grant you superpowers."

"What kind of powers?" I asked.

"Ladybug has the power of creation. Chat Noir has the power of destruction. I grant you the power of misdirection. I'm a trickster. I can't create anything, or destroy anything, but I can change the perception of others." She held up a paw. "A word of warning, however. Like Ladybug and Chat Noir, you only have five minutes after you use your ultimate trick-whatever that might be-before you change back. Be careful with it."

I gave a nod. "I… I'm still not sure about this. But if Marinette is in danger… I really can't say no. This is… temporary, okay? Just until you find someone better than me at being your fox or whatever."

Vall giggled. "Alright then. When I find someone better suited than you, you'll promptly get replaced. Until then, I'm counting on you, Nath."

That giggle was way too mischievous for me to be comfortable.

"Okay then…" I prepared myself. "Fox Trick!"


	4. Chapter 4: Renard Roux

"Fox Trick!" I shouted and a brilliant light flashed before my eyes. Vall went zooming towards the miraculous and a warm feeling spread over my body.

 _So this is what it feels like!_ I thought in surprise right before the warmth settled over me, like a second skin. And that's when I became acutely aware of what I was wearing.

"What's this?" I asked, examining the red and orange suit.

I had black gloves over my hands and orange bracer-type things on my forearms. The one on the left had grooves in the leather, holding several different paintbrushes, a pen, and a pencil.

 _A weird thing for a superhero to have_ I mused to myself. I reached over with my right hand, pulling the biggest one out of its groove in order to take a closer look.

The coloration on the paintbrush itself was odd. The shaft was black fading into red and the brush part itself was red with white tips. Frankly it reminded me of a fox's tail. Putting it back, I went to stand in front of a mirror, examining the costume with a scrutinizing eye.

There were fluffy fox-like ears seemingly nailed onto my head, but when I touched them, I felt no pain. And was that… was I hearing out of them? Like they were a second set of ears. I brought my fingers up and snapped my thumb and forefinger together. The ears reacted and I could feel it deep inside my head. I was definitely hearing out of them.

"Well that's weird," I decided out loud.

The mask I was wearing on my face was as expected, an orange, domino-shaped mask covering the top part of my face but leaving the bottom exposed. Under that was wear the main part of the costume actually started, a red collar encircling my neck, connecting to a red coat that trailed behind me. The main, skin-tight part of the suit was orange with almost red undertones mixed in. My feet were covered with thick, black boots that seemed a little clunky compared to the rest of the outfit, the toe section split by three vertical lines on each foot. I twisted to take a look at my costume from the side and I found that the trench coat had a fox-like pattern, the ends of the coat flaring out in a white color.

"Guess I don't get a really cool tail like Chat Noir," I muttered, giving myself a once over.

Overall, not that bad. The inner artist figured out a couple things that I wished I could change, but for the most part I looked good.

Besides, it wasn't going to be my costume for long anyway.

"Vall?" I called out. "Can you hear me?"

Nothing. No response.

I gathered quickly that she probably couldn't respond. She'd literally been sucked into the pendant. That meant she essentially was the costume, right?

"Okay then," I decided. "I'll see what it is that I can do."

I made my way to my window, hesitating a minute.

Chat Noir had a baton. Ladybug had a yoyo. They let them get around the city rather easily.

What did I have?

I looked myself over again.

Just the art tools.

"Alright," I muttered. "Then one of these should do the trick, right?"

I took out the medium paint brush, twirling it in my fingers. "Do I need paint or…" Yeah, there was no way I could guess what it was I was supposed to be doing.

I sighed, putting the paint brush back and opening my window, crawling out onto the fire escape and making my way manually to the roof. I reached the top and pulled the paintbrush out again, thinking a moment before I bent down, pretending to paint a staircase out of the stone.

Of course it didn't do anything.

"This is way too confusing," I muttered. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

It wasn't like answers were going to magically appear in front of me, but I was finding that Vall's explanation had been rather inefficient.

So then, if I was supposed to be some kind of superhero, and you explained everything else, why leave something as important as how to move around out? That hardly made sense.

I took a breath. "You're clever," I said, repeating what Vall had told me earlier, closing my eyes.

Okay, if I was clever, then I could figure this out. She didn't need to hold my hand then entire way.

I pulled out a different paintbrush and tried the same method over again, but nothing happened.

"Dang it!' I said in frustration, shaking the brush close to my own face. "Why won't you just move? Why couldn't I get, like, a manual or something to explain this?"

How did Ladybug and Chat Noir move around?

They had those items. It was their main weapon, and their mode of transportation so maybe…

Maybe…

I put the smaller paintbrush away and took out the big one again.

I examined the paintbrush in closer detail and then looked at the building nearby and made a swishing motion with the paintbrush.

I yelped in surprise, feeling disoriented suddenly as I found myself on the building, a streak of silver falling to the ground as if to somehow illustrate my sudden material transportation.

"Freaking _cool_!" I said, feeling myself grinning wildly. I looked ahead and waved the brush again, finding myself at the next building and then the next one, and the one after that and-

Calling it teleporting wouldn't be far from the truth, though it wasn't quite accurate.

It was more like I willed myself to be in the location each time I made a motion with the brush and I found myself there suddenly. It felt like I was being yanked, pulled across the street or into an alley by the sheer, abstract forces of my own intuition. And it wasn't easy.

At one point I found myself nearly falling into the Seine, "teleporting" into the air about fifty feet above when trying to get to the other bank.

I let out a whimper as I began to fall and then waved my magic paintbrush again, landing on the walkway, right amidst a gaggle of surprised onlookers. So there was a range limit to the thing.

"Um… hi," I said.

At that moment, a small child decided to start crying, which, unfortunately, seemed to set off a panic.

"Akuma!" a woman shouted, running away. "It's an akuma!"

"N-no wait!" I said, but it was already too late. Everyone was scattering in different directions, some of them knocking over each other. "Wait I'm not-"

"Ladybug, save us!" someone else cried.

"Ladybug!"

My heart pounded in my chest.

Seriously? The first time I step out of my house wearing this ridiculous get up and people think that I'm some sort of akuma? I hadn't even attacked anyone so why…?

"Never fear!" a voice called out. "The great and mighty Chat Noir is here!"

I sensed rather than saw him coming after me. Turning quickly I raised the paintbrush just in time to deflect his baton, tripping over by the force and staring at my paintbrush in surprise.

It'd gone from teleportation device to something a lot bigger, being roughly the size of his baton, though thicker in shape, like it had been scaled up rather than being replaced with something else. He swung his baton again and I narrowly dodged out of the way.

"No wait!" I said. "I'm not an akuma!"

"Like I'd believe that, michelangelo," he said in a mocking tone of voice. "Let me _paint_ you a _picture_ of how this is going down-"

He swung the baton again and I raised the paintbrush to block, taking a couple steps back.

"Are you some sort of _fox_ artist?" he asked, taking another swing. "You're making me _pawsitively_ red with _furry_."

"Enough of the dumb puns!" I snapped. "Seriously! I'm not an akuma!"

"Chat!"

I froze, hearing her voice.

Whack! I fell hard against the cement, the paintbrush rolling away from me.

"I got him, my lady!" I heard Adrien's voice from above me.

"Lovely," I muttered.

This was the guy that Marinette was in love with. This guy, with the dumb puns and really really painful metal stick.

It seemed like I couldn't beat him. Not at winning Marinette's heart, nor at just defending myself.

 _Real smooth, Nathanael,_ I thought. Things escalated rather quickly.

"Where's his akuma?" I heard her ask as she neared.

I reached out, vainly grasping the paintbrush. It shrunk down to its normal size as soon as I touched it.

Not wanting to press my luck, I glanced up at a nearby building and then swished my magic brush.

I felt that disorienting sensation and then found myself a couple feet in the air. I fell, landing hard against the brick.

"Where'd he go?" I heard Mainette's voice shout in startlement.

"He can teleport!" Chat Noir surmised.

 _No duh_ I thought, groaning as I put a hand to my head, feeling something wet.

I pushed myself back up to my feet, ignoring the blood for a moment, and then waved the paintbrush again, over and over and over, just trying to get away.

I shouldn't have expected anything else.

The two of them were used to dealing with akumas and villains. I wasn't either, but they didn't know that.

We had a long way to go if we were ever going to work together.

First, I had to earn their trust.


	5. Chapter 5: Not an Akuma, Morons!

Okay, so my first meeting with Ladybug and Chat Noir had failed. Epically. That didn't mean that the second would be as bad, right?

Wrong.

I didn't know how I had managed to screw up so badly, but it seemed like Ladybug and especially Chat Noir seemed to think that I was some kind of akumatized victim. It didn't matter that I hadn't attacked anyone or demanded their miraculouses. Obviously, I was going to, right?

At least from their point of views.

But this caused a problem for me.

Since there weren't any akumas to prove myself against, it wasn't like I could go "guess what? I'm not actually an akuma" and Vall seemed to insist on me "getting back out there" every time my transformation wore out.

I didn't know what was worse, the fact that Ladybug and Chat Noir seemed to think I was an akuma, or the fact that Vall kept sending me to my inevitably beat up doom.

However, one thing I knew for certain.

Today was celebrating Chat Noir and Ladybug and I'd had enough running away from them for one day.

"I'm done," I told her after the fifth time I'd found myself high tailing it away from the dynamic duo.

"You can't be done!" Vall squeaked. "We're just getting started! I mean…"

"I'm done," I insisted. "I just can't do this. It's too much for me."

Vall crossed her arms. "Well then," she said in a miffed voice. "What do you want to do instead?"

"I don't know, maybe actually talk to the two of them as me and not some masked "akuma"?" I suggested, using quotes with my fingers.

She laughed. "That will never work. The instant you're like "I'm that fox guy you were beating up" they'll just attack you anyway."

"Most people aren't that unreasonable," I said. "But it is unreasonable just banging my head against this wall over and over. I have to do something different."

"And by different you mean revealing your secret identity to them."

"If that's what it takes to get them to stop," I asserted, though I didn't sound as sure, even to my own ears.

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just don't regret it later."

"I'm temporary anyway," I said. "It won't matter once…"

"You sure you want to give up that whole teleporting power?" Vall asked, coming a little closer with a sly smile on her face.

"Absolutely," I stated vehemently. "This is temporary."

"Alright," she said with a shrug. "Doesn't bother me as long as the job gets done. So then, you plan on revealing your secret identity to two complete morons who think you're an akuma. Sounds fair."

"They aren't morons," I protested.

"They haven't done a very good job of figuring out who each other are," she noted. "And it took you-what?- five minutes to put that together?"

I flushed. "They're not morons," I repeated.

At least Marinette wasn't. I didn't know Adrien well enough to be sure about him.

"You don't sound very convincing," she noted. "Having some doubt?"

"Absolutely not," I said, gathering my resolve. "I'll go to Marinette first and… I'll explain." I gulped down a breath, a mix of excitement and apprehension growing within my chest.

"It's up to you," she said in a tone that said she was giving up arguing.

I should have felt happy about that. I mean, she was giving in, wasn't she? But it just left me in a state of anxiety. "It'll be fine," I muttered and then mentally braced myself. "Alright, Vall, think you can hide in here?" I symbolized my pocket.

She rolled her eyes and zoomed in close. "I enter a magical bracelet. Don't you think I could fit in your pocket?" To demonstrate, she flew in and snuggled down. "I'll be quiet," she said. "You're my chosen. You handle this, alright?"

I gave a nod and she hunkered down. There was hardly any weight at all, like she wasn't even there.

Just talk to Marinette I told myself. It's not going to be that hard.

Yeah right.

Time to get it over with, I supposed.

I grabbed my sketchbook and left my room, walking through the front door. My mother didn't even glance up from the television as I left, not that I expected her to. This whole superhero thing would be really easy to pull off, I realized bitterly. Since she didn't even notice when I was gone.

I walked towards the bakery where Marinette lived, thinking about the best way I could go about telling her.

 _"Marinette!" I said, approaching her quickly and taking her hands. "I need you to know something!"_

 _Marinette's blue eyes widened and her breath hitched. "Y-yes, Nathanael?" she asked, a sweet look on her face._

 _"I know you're Ladybug," I said smoothly. "And I want you to know I'm going to protect you."_

 _"You know?" she asked, looking scared for a minute before she heard the next part. "Silly Nath," she said softly. "How are you supposed to protect me? You're not a superhero."_

 _"Yes I am," I said. "I just got this kwami named Vall and-"_

No, that wouldn't work. I was too awkward to pull any of that off. The instant I touched her hands, I might as well just die.

Alright then, maybe…

 _"Ladybug!" I said, quickly approaching Marinette._

 _"Huh? What? W-where?" she asked, looking around, her face flushed._

 _I cupped her cheeks with my hands. "Right here," I said, kissing her._

Okay, so that one was my fault. I couldn't help it. Picturing Marinette in any sense usually lead to me wanting to just hold her tight and-

 _Stop it!_ I scolded myself. _Concentrate! This is important!_

Important or not, my head was buzzing with thoughts of Marinette and Ladybug and not what I should really be thinking about.

I paused in front of an alleyway, kicking the closest thing to me, which happened to be a dumpster.

" _Think!_ " I said, putting my sketchbook in front of my face. "Think think think! I know I can do this-"

"Nathanael?"

It wasn't Marinette's voice, which was a relief in and of itself, but the voice belonged to someone equally bad in their own right.

Adrien Agreste was standing on the sidewalk, Nino and Alya next to him, the trio looking rather confused.

"O-oh…" I said, searching for the right words, keeping my sketchbook above the lower half of my face, obscuring my mouth from view. Please leave me alone I thought. "H-hey…"

"What are you doing out here?" Alya asked. "I mean, I rarely ever see you outside of school."

"I was…" I cleared my throat. "I was…"

"Easy there," she said. "Let it come naturally."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I was on my way to… to M-Marinette's house to ask… to ask about my drawing if she'd… like it…" I finished lamely.

The three of them stared at me a moment.

"We were actually heading there ourselves," Nino spoke up. "Want to tag along?"

Alya looked incredibly annoyed. "Nino!" she hissed, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him close. "We were going on a double date. We can't take Nathanael along with us-"

"Uh… I don't want to be any trouble," I muttered, glancing back down at the ground.

"I actually think it's a good idea," Adrien said. "I mean, you like her, right?"

I immediately turned red and Alya let out a small noise like a strangled animal. "But Adrien-"

Adrien held up a hand with a grin. "The more the merrier, right? I can even set some time aside for the two of you alone. I'm good at reading the mood."

That couldn't be further from the truth. I just stared at the model in surprise. He really didn't get it. At all.

Maybe Vall was right and he was a moron.

"I-It's okay," I said finally. "I can just ask her tomorrow at-"

"I insist," Adrien said, putting his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into their circle. "I think you'd be cute together. I'll help any way I can."

There was absolutely no way I was getting out of this and I knew it. Still, I couldn't help but glance for help at what seemed like the only sane individual in the group.

"Adrien, it's probably rude to Marinette to-"

"It'll be okay," Adrien said to Alya, flashing her a winning smile. "I promise."

Alya clearly didn't like it any more than I did, but I gathered from the way she was standing that she knew this was a losing battle.

"We're wasting time," she muttered, pushing past.

And in that moment I knew my fate was sealed.

Whether I liked it or not, Adrien was forcing me to come along with them. And he was going to arrange alone time between me and Marinette. On one hand, I was ecstatic, but the more realistic part of my brain knew that this could only end badly.

I guessed bad days just breed more bad luck.


	6. Chapter 6: Black Cats

So there I was, walking towards Marinette's house with absolutely no means of escape, desperately clutching my sketchbook to my chest. My heart was going at a million miles an hour, my pulse speeding wildly out of control. I felt like I was close to having a panic attack and it was just getting worse by the second.

How did it end up like this?

What could have possibly possessed the universe to think that sending me to Marinette's house in the middle of a double date between Alya, Nino, Adrien, and the woman I loved could possibly end up okay?

There was nothing I could say that would fix this. I knew that. I had wanted to see Marinette. I'd said as much. And the sun-child himself seemed to be ushering me to my doom.

I tried to desperately think up an excuse, some reason to split early. Maybe… maybe I had forgotten something important? I wracked my brain, looking for a plausible lie.

"U-uh I might have… forgotten…" I licked my lips. "Forgotten…"

"No excuses," Adrien said, patting my back. "It'll be fine, you'll see. With these kinds of things, you have to just," he posed dramatically, "pour your heart out."

"And you would have experience with that, would you?" Nino said in a teasing voice.

Adrien grinned. "Maybe."

"And where has that gotten you?" I muttered.

"Sorry, what? Didn't quite hear you," he said.

"Nothing." I clenched my sketchbook tightly.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I should just tell her how I felt-

Wait a minute, I wasn't going to spout my love for her. That wasn't why I was talking to her.

 _Don't get distracted_ , I scolded myself.

This was going to be a lot harder than I had anticipated…

"And here we are," Alya announced, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "You guys… wait out here. I'll go get Marinette." She glanced towards me. "And prepare her for… this."

I blushed, glancing down at the ground. I really didn't want to be trouble, but it was like from the very instant that I had crossed paths with Adrien and his friends, that was what I had become.

Alya opened the door and disappeared inside, leaving the three of us alone outside.

Marinette would hate me if I intruded on her date with Adrien.

And it didn't seem like I had any choice.

Maybe I could sneak away…

I glanced up out of the corner of my eye at my love rival.

He seemed completely oblivious to why Alya was upset. He seemed completely oblivious to all of it.

Not that Adrien was stupid.

I knew for a fact he got better grades than me in school.

But he was just so dang clueless…

"So then," Adrien said, "that drawing you want to show Marinette… mind if I know what it is?"

I shook my head vigorously. "It's private," I said in a tone I hoped would dissuade him from asking any more questions.

"Fair enough," he said, then grinned. It was a grin that reminded me very much of Chat Noir and for a second I couldn't believe how dense I was not to have seen it sooner. "So then. If it's private, is it a love confession?"

"No!" I protested, maybe a little too strongly. "It's…" I didn't know what to say. "Private," I finished lamely.

"Okay," Adrien said. "Well then, is this private, non-confession drawing about Marinette? I'm guessing from your expression that it is."

"Please stop asking," I whimpered.

"Dude, it's cool," Nino said, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I had a crush on Marinette at one point, too."

That was news to me.

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded. "She's cute. It's totally normal." He smiled. "Of course I love Alya now, but that's thanks to being locked in a cage with her for an extended period of time. I got stockholm syndrome." He snickered.

"That's not a nice thing to say," Alya's voice cut in as she opened the door, going to stand in front of Nino, her finger in his face. "Be nice to me or I'll make you regret it."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, sobering up in response.

"Good," she said with a smile.

"H-hey, Adrien," Marinette's voice squeaked from the doorway. "I… uh… "

"Hi, Marinette," he said and she turned absolutely red.

I couldn't help but stare. Marinette was wearing a cute light blue dress that really brought out the color in her eyes, the skirt reaching her knees and little silver sandals on her feet. She looked natural, and adorable and-

"Hi, Nathanael," she said, turning her eyes towards me, the blush from talking to Adrien fading a little as she addressed me.

"M-Marinette," I said. "I, uh, I'm sorry I'm intruding…"

"Oh no!" she protested, her eyes widening a bit. "I mean it's not like this is a serious date or anything," she said, laughing nervously. But I could tell she was a little disappointed I was here. How could she not be?

It was a little painful, being second best. There was nothing I could do about it, either. I was shy, and I didn't like confrontations. And I wasn't nearly as academically brilliant or handsome as Adrien Agreste.

But that didn't lessen the hurt I felt, stabbing at my chest.

"Th-that's good to hear," I said, not knowing what else to say.

Why couldn't Adrien have just left me alone?

"Well," Alya interjected. "Since we're all going, let's get a move on. The festivities have already started and we aren't getting any younger."

"I… yes," Marinette said with a nod. "That's a good idea."

My fingers tightened on my notebook. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I knew I hated crowds and it seemed impossible to get out of the fact we were going towards one.

I tuned the others out as they started up some conversation, instead focusing on my apprehension. How could I fix this so it wouldn't be completely awkward?

"Nath?" Marinette's voice cut into my thoughts.

"Sorry?" I said, looking up.

She gave me a soft smile. "I asked you about the drawing you wanted to show me."

"Um… n-not right now," I said. I glanced around. We were getting pretty close to the celebration.

"Okay," she said and then turned her attention back to the others.

They were staring at the two of us in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. I ducked my head and started drifting to the left, but Adrien caught me around the neck.

"Well, Nath," he said with a grin. "Marinette looks really cute tonight, don't you think?"

"U-uh… yeah," I said and she blushed in response.

"Stop it," she muttered in a low voice.

"What? You are," Adrien said in response to that, his perfectly poised smile irritating me.

If I was a hero in some fairytale, I might have scooped Marinette up in my arms at that moment and carried her away from the obliviousness that Adrien exuded. However…

 _You're really stupid,_ I thought, scowling in his direction.

At that moment, they all looked at me with shocked expressions.

A pit settled in my stomach. "I… I said that outloud, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," Nino said in response. "Not cool, dude."

"Why am I so dumb?" Adrien asked, sounding offended.

My head pounded as I searched for something to say, anything to make it less awkward.

"I… I didn't mean to say that," I said. "I'm sorry."

"I want to hear it," Adrien said. "Why am I dumb?"

"Let it go, Adrien," Alya said. "He said he was sorry."

He backed off then, though he was clearly non-appreciative of my comment. "Well, you're entitled to your opinion," he told me.

I blushed and ducked my head again. "I… should go," I said softly.

"No, stay," Adrien said with a sigh. "It's… It's fine."

"I really should-"

"Nathanael," Nino said. "If Adrien's telling you to stay, you should. _Especially_ since you just called him stupid."

I opened my mouth, glanced at Marinette, and then closed it again. If Adrien had looked peeved, Marinette looked absolutely pissed, biting the inside of her cheek and glaring at me as if I killed her favorite cat.

Well, since words couldn't kill.

I became distinctly aware of the sounds of the crowd as we approached, the buzzing noise of multiple people talking. I grimaced. Social environments obviously weren't something I enjoyed.

"Well," Adrien said. "I think I saw Chloe. I'm going to go say hi. I'll meet up with you guys later."

Marinette made a face, but didn't say anything as he ran off.

"Adrien wait!" Alya said, but he was already gone.

For a minute, the four of us stood around awkwardly.

"I'm going to go get some popcorn," Nino said after a moment. "Alya, do you want some?"

"I'll come with you," she said with a sigh, glancing at me. "Be good until we get back."

The two of them took off, leaving me alone with an angry Marinette.

My luck couldn't get any worse, could it?


	7. Chapter 7: Jubilee

Apparently, it could.

Marinette took a deep breath. "What you said was very rude," she said.

"I apologized," I said. "I meant it."

"Then why did you call him stupid?"

"I was thinking it," I said softly. "Because he… he doesn't notice the way you look at him."

She paused. "That's none of your business, Nath."

"I know," I said. "I...I really didn't intend to say it."

She paused. "I believe you." She looked away. "Well, we're alone now. Do you want to show me that drawing?"

"I… I actually wanted to talk to you, Marinette," I said softly. "About the new akuma that appeared in town."

"The fox one?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "He seems a bit weird for an akuma, right?"

"Yeah. That's what I mean I-"

She put up her finger, shaking her head. "I don't want to talk about him. Not right now. Not unless he appears.

This… it's a celebration and I… don't get to experience these a lot, do you? I think we should have some fun while we wait for the others to get back."

I felt a little frustrated at that. "But-"

"No buts, Nath," she said, giving me a scowl, one so cute I couldn't help but melt. Then she smiled, reaching out and grabbing my hand. "There's a ferris wheel over there. Let's ride it."

"Are you sure?" I asked, letting her pull me along.

"Of course!" she said, looking at me with a grin. "No complaints, got it?"

She pulled me towards the Ferris Wheel, right through the crowd of waiting people. Everywhere, there were posters and merchandise involving Chat Noir and Ladybug. Couples were dressed up as them and children held toys-primarily of Ladybug-in their tiny hands. Marinette clearly noticed, looking around with a much happier eye.

 _So far, so good_ , I thought.

 _"I love you, Marinette," I said in a soft voice, stopping the two of us short. I turned her around to face me, then leaned down for a kiss._

 _"You called Adrien stupid," she said in response, putting her finger over my lips. "I love him. Not you."_

 _"I can teach you to love me," I said. "I promise, I'll never hurt you."_

 _Stop it, Nath!_ I scolded myself, watching the ground as we ran. _I_ wanted so much to just...admit I loved her but…

"Hey, Nathanael," she said, slowing down. "We're here."

I looked up, meeting her eyes. For a moment, she froze, just looking back at me, then blushed, dropping my hand as if she just realized she was still holding it.

"Sorry," she said. "So, um, you want to get in?"

"Sure," I said.

"C'mon." She led the way to the line, walking up and getting in last, trying to peer at the front. "We're going to be waiting a while."

I nodded, holding my sketchbook up to my chest.

"Hey," Marinette said in a sweet voice. "Can I see?"

I could never say no to her when she asked like that.

"Um, yeah," I said, holding it out for her.

She took it from me, leaning back against the railing, opening it up.

I felt a little anxious, having her look through something so private, but it wasn't really as bad as if it were someone else.

"I really like your art," she murmured, her eyes focused. "There's an awful lot of me though…" she looked up. "And me as Ladybug. Why?"

"I…" I swallowed. "I just like drawing you like that. She's… really pretty and smart and…"

"You like her?" she asked.

"I like you!" I blurted and then bit my lip.

She blinked. "I know…" she said.

"But you like Adrien," I muttered.

She gave a soft smile. "I… I do understand," she said. "I feel the same way about Adrien…" she flushed. "But… I can't-"

"I know," I said. "Please don't say it outloud."

She closed the sketchbook and handed it back to me. "Then I won't," she said.

"Thank you," I said, relaxing a little bit.

"Next," the person in charge of the ride said, opening up the gate.

I hesitated a moment. "You still want to go?"

She gave a nod. "I want to see Paris from above."

 _Don't you do that a lot?_ I was tempted to ask, but kept quiet, just following her to the seat.

She scooted over to the edge and I sat down next to her. A moment later, we were rising up into the sky.

Marinette leaned forward, gazing out over the railing. "I love this view," she murmured. "It's always so…"

"Those are a lot of people," I intelligently noted, staring down.

She laughed. "That would be something you'd be worried about."

"Am I that predictable?" I asked.

"I've been going to school with you for over a year," Marinette said with a soft smile. "I know you're antisocial."

I paused. "I don't think I'm antisocial. People just… make me nervous."

"Oh," she said. "So you don't dislike people?"

"Not most of the time, no."

"Oh," she said.

I fell quiet, a little disappointed that she didn't even figure that much out about me. Well, it couldn't be helped, I supposed. She was so in love with Adrien, it probably said something about her character that she noticed me at all.

"Well," she said after a moment of awkward silence, right as we reached the peak. "I know I can't… feel the way you do, but we can still be friends, right? Maybe find out more about each other and all of that… I… I think you need more friends."

I shrugged, looking over at her. "Everyone always says that," I said in response. "I figure everyone in class is fine. Maybe people don't talk to me a lot, but that's fine. I've still got Juleka and Ivan and…"

"So that's a no?" she asked, her blue eyes growing wide.

There was a twisting in my gut. "It's not a no," I said in a low voice. "Just don't feel obligated, okay?"

"It's not an obligation," she said, shaking her head. "It's…"

Remember what I said about things apparently getting worse?

"Agh! Someone help me!" I heard someone screaming below.

The crowd was parting like a sea, everyone running in one direction while an akuma laughed maliciously. And we were stuck at the top of a Ferris Wheel.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir!" the akuma yelled, loud enough that we could hear him clearly from up here. "Come out, come out to play! I am Jubilee! This party was about you but it'll now be about me and what I want! And what I want right now are your miraculouses!"

"This is bad!" Marinette said beside me. "Where's Chat Noir?"

I scanned the crowd, but it was nearly impossible to spot Adrien when we were so high up.

"I bet he's finding a place to transform," I said. I glanced at the other passengers on the Ferris Wheel, straining my neck to look back. "None of the other passengers can see us where we are," I said.

 _"Marinette, it's okay. Take him out."_

 _She glanced over at me, her eyes widening. "Nath-"_

 _"I know, okay?" I said. "I know what you run off to do. We can talk about it later. Right now you need to stop that akuma."_

I almost said that. It would be so easy at this point, so easy to just say something like "Hey, I know your secret", but something about the intense look she got on her face made me pause.

"Marinette-"

"How's this for a little motivation?" Jubilee called suddenly and then raised his hands, fireworks flashing from his fingertips, heading straight for the spoke on the Ferris Wheel.

"Marinette, transform now!" I managed to gasp out just before the fireworks hit.

 _Ka-Boom!_ The ferris wheel listed to one side and then started to fall.

"Tikki, Spots On!" Marinette shrieked beside me.

There was a flash of light and then.

"Lucky Charm!"

I could feel her moving beside me, quickly trying to adjust as the Ferris Wheel fell, trying to come up with a solution.

I shut my eyes tightly, gripping the railing hard.

And then the screaming stopped.


	8. Chapter 8: Foxes Don't Like Parties

I opened my eyes to the sound of creaking metal.

"Nathanael," I heard Marinette's voice.

I looked over to see her stretching her hand out to me.

"Take my hand," she said.

I reached out for her, grabbing her hand, and Ladybug drew me out of the seat, pulling me close to her.

"I've got you," she said, and then jumped off the lopsided Ferris Wheel, taking us down.

"How did you…" at that moment I noticed a small figure at the base of the Ferris Wheel, wearing black, his back up against the wheel, his baton supporting another part, fully extended.. "He's strong," I said.

'He can hold it for now," she said. "I need to take Jubilee out quickly though."

We landed near one of the popcorn machines.

"Nath…" Ladybug said. "We need to talk, later. I need to take Jubilee out now but…"

I grabbed her arm. "Let me help you."

She shook her head. "Sorry, Nathan, you can't. I normally would have Chat helping, but he's occupied. I'll deal with this."

I opened my mouth, but she was already leaving, running with her yoyo in hand.

" _Psst_! Nathanael!" Vall's voice came suddenly from my pocket and she zoomed out. "It's now or never."

"I'll get in the way if I try to help now," I said. "They don't trust me."

"They never will if you don't _show_ them that they can trust you," Vall said in response. "Trust me, Nathanael. It's now or never."

There was some sense in what she was saying. And, even though I was scared of how they'd react, I knew she was right.

"Okay then," I said. "Fox Trick!"

I let the familiar feeling wash over my body and then reached for the paintbrushes...only to find they weren't there.

I started, feeling my forearm. The brushes weren't there. Everything else in my suit was the same, but the brushes just weren't there.

"What the hell?" I asked, but of course Vall couldn't respond.

I looked at the bracelet and noticed a soft blue light coming off of it. Whatever that meant, I wasn't sure, but I didn't really have time to worry about it.

I ran forward, right into the view of Ladybug.

"You!" she said, turning her yoyo on me, but I ducked out of the way, narrowly.

"You need my help!" I blurted. "I'm on your side, so just listen a moment!"

"You're an akuma!" Ladybug said.

"No I'm not!" I responded with irritation. "I have a miraculous." I lifted up my wrist. "See?"

Ladybug froze, her eyes narrowing. "Fine," she said. "I'll believe you for now. But if you turn on me, I swear I'll find where that pesky little butterfly is hiding and rip it out of you."

"Well you're not going to have to worry about that," I said.

Right then, Jubilee seemed to notice us. "A fox and a bug, come to play?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's right," I said and then charged forward.

Jubilee let off a reign of fireworks, directed at me.

They were a lot harder to dodge than Ladybug's yoyo.

I let out a yelp of surprise right before Ladybug grabbed me from behind, pulling me out of the line of fire.

"Gee, you really are a rookie," she muttered. "Look, what's your name?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it again.

"Haven't come up with anything yet?" she asked and then sighed. "Alright, for now I'm going to call you Renard Roux. Or Ren for short. Alright?"

I honestly didn't mind that at all. "Okay," I said.

"Alright then, Ren, don't charge in like that. That's the fastest way to get yourself killed… where are your brushes?"

"I… don't know. They just weren't there when I transformed this time."

She muttered under her breath. "Alright, what can you do without them?"

"I don't know," I said.

She pursed her lips. "You provide the distraction, I'll figure something out."

"I'll try not to die," I said dryly in response to that, then looked around. There was surely something I could use since I didn't have my brushes.

I quickly assessed the environment and then smiled, running over to the sound board. Maybe I couldn't fight very well, but I could get Jubilee off the stage, make it harder for him to track me.

"Here we go," I muttered.

"What are you doing?" Jubilee asked, looking more curious than scared.

"It's a party, right?" I said and then turned the sound on.

A loud ringing started up as I messed with the wires.

"Turn it off!" Jubilee yelled.

"Make me!" I said in response and then jumped out of the way when he sent a volley of fireworks in my direction. I ran into the stalls and Jubilee, predictably, followed.

Fireworks exploded after me, making impossibly loud noises. I tried not to let my heart go too crazy, relying on my body to know what to do to get out of the way. At some point, I found myself scrambling on my hands and knees, falling over myself until I pushed behind a stall, breathing heavily.

Jubilee ran past me and I relaxed a little, struggling to catch my breath.

That's when I became aware of another presence.

 _Snap._ There was a clicking sound and a flash of light.

I raised my hand to shield my face and blinked, a bit disoriented, suddenly aware of who it was.

"Alya!" I said. "What are you doing here?"

"You know who I am?" Alya said. "Are you an akuma, Mr. Fox?"

"No," I said and then my fox ears picked up a sound. "Get down!" I pushed Alya to the ground just as a firework wizzed into the stall, exploding it.

"Come out to play!" Jubilee said in a loud voice.

"Get out of here," I hissed to Alya, then got up, ready to fight.

Alya grabbed my arm and pulled me down just before another firework exploded where I would have been.

"You're quite the rookie," she said with a laugh.

I felt a flash of irritation. "I guess so," I said. "Thanks."

"You owe me an interview," she said, then shoved me out.

I looked around and spotted what I needed, running towards a popcorn stand.

"What are you going to do, foxy?" Jubilee said, fireworks flashing around me, nearly blinding me.

I ducked behind the stand for a moment and loosened the hinges on the door.

 _Boom._ The fireworks exploded next to me, giving me an idea.

I took the door off and leapt up. "Na na na na na," I said in a sing-song voice and then took off.

A firework got close to me and I turned around, holding the metal door out. It reflected the firework back at Jubilee, who yelped in surprise, spinning mid step.

I kept running, leading him with a purpose this time.

"Ren!" I heard Ladybug call.

I kept running, watching as she fell into step.

"I used Lucky Charm and got this," she said, holding a large wrench in front of her. "Usually I can figure out what it means, but I didn't see anything useful against fireworks!"

"Don't worry. I got you covered," I said. We reached the edge of the celebration grounds, near the street corner and I spun, turning to face Jubilee.

A firework got close again and I put my make-shift shield out, reflecting it back again, but this time Jubilee was prepared, immediately shooting out another firework that caught it in the middle.

"You don't think I'd fall for that trick again, do you?" he said with a laugh.

"No, didn't think so," I said in answer and then grabbed Ladybug's wrench out of her hands. "Keep him distracted!"

She looked surprised, but didn't protest as I ran forward, putting the wrench on the fire hydrant and turning it quickly. Water gushed out, hitting Jubilee in the back of his head.

" _Gwah!_ " he exclaimed as he staggered forward, right into Ladybug's fist.

The akuma went down on the ground.

He tried to get up and Ladybug reached forward, taking one of his many party streamers and ripping it in half.

A small butterfly flew out.

"No more evil doing for you, little akuma!" Ladybug said, swinging her yoyo around. It caught the butterfly in a white light. "Gotcha!" she said and then stood straight, opening it up to reveal it had turned white. "Bye, bye, little butterfly," she said as it flew off.

I handed the wrench to her and she threw it up in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Immediately thousands of ladybugs swarmed around, repairing the damage of our fight. I saw the Ferris Wheel in the distance correcting itself, flying up.

The last time I had seen something like this so close up, I had been the one akumatized. I had been disoriented and confused and I didn't quite realize how beautiful the process was.

"Whoa," I said.

"Yeah, it's pretty, isn't it," Ladybug said beside me. She glanced over at me. "Thanks. I mean it. Guess you really aren't an akuma, right?"

"Absolutely," I said.

Her earrings beeped. "Uh-oh. Gotta split," she said with a grimace. "I'll see you around, Ren… think about your hero name, okay? You're going to need one."

"I… I actually like the one you gave me," I admitted, blushing. "It's nice."

She gave a laugh and swung her yoyo. "Enjoy the festival, Renard Roux."

She disappeared up in the air and I stared after her for a minute before realizing something very important.

"My notebook!" I said.


	9. Chapter 9: The Sketchbook

Losing a sketchbook is always like losing a part of your soul.

One second it's there, full of ideas, and then it's just… gone.

Needless to say, I didn't manage to find it.

But, something else had very much occured to me by the time I gave up, something that I could actually ask Vall now that I was no longer transformed.

"Where did the paint brushes go? I kinda needed them."

"Oh, that," the tiny kwami said on my way home, still hiding in my pocket. "You didn't really need them."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"My powers don't just come in a set form like Ladybug's and Chat Noir's. You don't always get the same equipment. I warned you that my abilities are unpredictable. There are a few consistencies, but not many."

"So you're saying the five times I did have the paint brushes were a fluke?" I asked. "All that teleporting around and stuff?"

"A fluke? Absolutely not. Something about what you were thinking caused them to appear," Vall said. "And something about what you were thinking caused them to not appear this time."

"So it's based on what I'm thinking?"

"Mm… more like what you need or can work with," Vall said. "Like Ladybug's lucky charm. We don't have anything like that. No special skill that absolutely overcomes everything like that. Instead, it's just…" she shrugged, her small shoulders moving. "It's what you make of it."

"And I didn't need the paintbrushes?"

"You didn't need the paintbrushes," Vall verified. "Think about it. If you had had them, what would you have done?"

I paused a moment. "Probably would have tried attacking Jubilee head on."

"And how do you think that would have turned out?"

"Probably not very well," I admitted.

"So then what did you do instead?"

"I… figured out another way," I said.

"Exactly," Vall said with a nod. "I'm sure you'll have what you need when you need it. But not all answers come free. Sometimes, you just need to rely on your own strength to figure it out."

I didn't really know what to say to that. I had liked the thought of having weird magical paintbrushes aide me in battle.

"Then what about the ones I didn't know how to use?" I asked. "With Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"You'll figure out how to use them later, when they appear," Vall said.

"Great, thanks," I muttered.

"Nathanael!" I heard Marinette's voice suddenly from behind me.

I turned quickly, watching as the girl caught up to me, clutching my sketchbook to her chest.

"Here," she said, holding it out.

I took it from her. "Thank you. I was searching all over for this."

She nodded. "I know. Chat Noir found it. It was still in your seat on the Ferris Wheel."

I fell quiet at that. "Thank him sometime for me, alright?" I said after a moment.

Marinette looked at me curiously. "How long have you known?"

"It wasn't hard for me to figure out," I said in response. "I like you. A lot. I'd know you even if you were wearing magical polka-dotted spandex."

She gave a laugh. "I guess you would," she said. "And you haven't told anyone?"

"Why would I? You're keeping it secret for a reason, right? If I told anyone, that could potentially jeopardize your ability to keep it that way, even if it was someone who cared about you."

She visibly relaxed. "You actually get it," she said after a moment. "I was preparing for the worst."

I shook my head. "Marinette-"

"You knew that the fox wasn't an akuma," she spoke up then. "That's what you were trying to say earlier, wasn't it?"

I gave a small nod.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"He… he didn't ask for your miraculous," I said in answer.

She sighed. "The last time we came across a fox, she used illusions to make us believe she was a superhero, a friend," she said. "And then she betrayed us and-"

"Volpina," I said. "Yeah, the news had a field day with that." I clutched the sketchbook close. "But that doesn't mean that every hero to come is also going to be an akuma…"

 _Marinette's eyes fixed on my wrist suddenly and her hand flashed out, pulling my hand towards her._

 _She looked up at me, a look of disbelief on her face._

 _"You're Ren?" she asked, turning my miraculous over in her fingers._

 _I flushed at that, but I didn't really feel the need to answer. She already knew._

 _She dropped my hand and gave a laugh. "Oh my god. I'm sorry, Nath. It's just… if I'd known."_

 _"I… I was trying to tell you," I mumbled._

It would be so easy if she noticed. I wouldn't have to say anything… do anything.

Unfortunately, she just looked at me with an oblivious smile. "Nath," she said. "I'm actually… happy… that I got to spend some time with you tonight, even if it wasn't a lot."

No wait, was I hearing that right? She couldn't actually be saying that, could she?

"Uh… you're welcome?" I said, not knowing what else to say.

She gave a giggle. "I'm glad it was you that figured it out and not someone else," she said. "I think… I can trust you."

"O-Of course you can," I said in response, clutching the sketchbook to my chest.

"Good," Marinette said. "I… I might need your help in the future. It's hard sneaking away from classmates without being seen."

"I can definitely help with that," I said in response.

I needed to learn how to do that as well as she could anyway, even if this whole fox thing was temporary.

"Okay," Marinette said and then smiled. "It's really too bad about the festival. It was started off so well too…"

"And that's why an akuma had to break in," I said in response. "I… need to get home. But I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Marinette gave a nod. "Alright. Be careful on your way back."

"You too," I said and then started walking off, leaving Marinette behind.

There was a pit in my gut, one that hurt so hard I almost turned back. It felt like lying, leaving out the fact that I was Ren. But I didn't know how to tell her. Not in a way that she could understand.

So even if it was lying, I couldn't tell her.

I wanted to tell her, to let her know what happened to me. Maybe she would tell me all about being Ladybug if I did. Maybe we would draw closer together.

But something about it just seemed wrong.

I clutched my sketchbook tightly to my chest.

Even though I had it back, I still felt like I was missing a piece of my soul.

Maybe the sketchbook being gone hadn't been the problem, after all.


	10. Chapter 10: The Problem with Fingerpaint

I loved art. A lot.

But I didn't love all aspects about art.

Drawing, painting, doodling, clay, all of these things were perfectly acceptable.

But there was one form of art I absolutely hated.

Fingerpainting.

Why?

Because it was an unavoidable mess. It wasn't about talent and precision. Instead it seemed to be a contest of who could create the bigger catastrophe of colors.

So no, I didn't like fingerpainting. I _wouldn't ever_ like fingerpainting.

That's what I thought, at least, until the day our class decided to do a project involving just that and decided to consult _me_ about it.

Sure, I'm an artist. But that doesn't mean I loved all aspects of it.

And this was something I could do without.

"N-No," I protested weakly.

"Come on," Alya said. "It'll be fun!"

Juleka put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Nath," she said in a low voice. "It'll be over soon enough."

"I _hate_ fingerpainting though," I complained.

"Hey, Nathanael," I looked over and saw Marinette smiling at me. "Let's do our best together, alright?"

How could I say no to that face?

I sighed in defeat, preparing myself for an afternoon full of boundless mess with very little actual artistic value.

"That's the spirit," Juleka chuckled, seeing my expression. She then leaned in and whispered, "I'll try to get you partnered with Marinette. I've got your back."

"But-" I protested, but at that moment, Ms. Bustier spoke up.

"Alright class. You're going to be working in teams of three and two teams of two," Ms. Bustier said. "Decide amongst yourselves who you want as a partner."

Juleka moved automatically towards Rose and Ivan, leaving me where I sat. For a moment, I felt exposed as everyone teamed up with each other, but then I glanced down and saw Marinette meet my eyes. She gave me a small smile and got up from her seat, coming up to meet me.

"Partners?" she asked.

"Sure, but… why didn't you want to partner with Adrien?" I asked, a little confused.

She sat down next to me. "Nino and Alya are dating and Adrien is Nino's best friend. I'm sure he'd rather be in a team with his best friend than with me."

I winced. "Anyone would want to be in a team with you."

She gave a soft laugh. "That's nice to say, but I don't think so."

"Honestly," I insisted.

"Well you're the artistic one. I'm surprised the others didn't jump at the chance to be on a team with you."

"I… don't really work well with others," I muttered. "I never have."

"Why not?" Marinette asked.

My throat tightened. "I don't know, I just… don't."

Marinette's eyes were on me, examining me. I couldn't even guess what the superheroine was thinking, but she gave a small smile. "I guess we're one of the two man groups. Us and of course Chloe and Sabrina over there."

I shuddered. "At least she didn't say four man groups and then we'd be stuck with them."

"I suppose so," she said. "Anyway, let's start thinking about what we're going to paint."

"Listen up, class," Ms. Bustier said, taking our attention back to the front of the classroom. "Finger Painting is about _expression._ Expressing what you feel in a medium that's very organic. And, since we're studying Van Gogh, I want you all to create an impression of what you see and what you feel. Don't worry about the quality, just have fun. You can set up anywhere, though I recommend out in the quad where there's more room to work. Ms. Mendeleiev's class will be joining us in about half an hour. Make the most of the time you have."

"Yes, Ms. Bustier," the class said all as one.

Everyone began filing up to the front desk then, picking out colors and sheets of poster paper before disappearing out into the hall, leaving Marinette and myself alone in the class.

"Let's go," Marinette said, getting up.

"We…" I swallowed. "Can we set up here instead of… out there?"

She hesitated. "Alright," she said, giving me a small smile. "I'll get the paper, do you want to grab the paints?"

"Sure," I said and then walked to the front of the class, seeing what colors were left over.

Red, black, green, and orange and white. No yellow or blue or purple.

I really wasn't surprised.

That's what usually happened when you were the last.

Marinette picked out a decently sized paper and glanced towards me. "What's wrong?"

"We're missing most of the cool colors," I muttered, picking up the remaining paints. "It's going to be difficult."

"I see," Marinette said. "So maybe I should ask someone else in the class if there's any leftovers?"

I shook my head. "We can figure something out."

She took the paper over and set it down in the middle of the floor, sitting down next to it. "What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know," I said. "I was thinking it might be cool if I was able to paint you but… that's not going to work without blue."

She giggled. "Not everything has to be about me, Nathanael. Maybe… maybe we should draw the new hero. The fox one."

I flushed in embarrassment. "Please no."

"Why not?" she asked. "It looks like we have most the colors. And you're a good artist."

" _Because that would be drawing myself," I said._

" _Oh my god, you're Ren?"_

"Because… I don't know about him," I said instead. "I mean… we don't know where he came from or who he is and-"

"He helped me," she said. "And you were the one that vouched for him in the first place."

"Maybe. But I don't want to draw him," I said.

"I guarantee Chloe's going to be painting Ladybug," Marinette said in response to that. "And Alya's group too. Let's do something else. Maybe… Chat Noir?"

I didn't like the thought of that any more than the thought of painting myself. And something must have shown on my face.

"Okay…" Marinette said. "Not him either then. Do you dislike Chat?"

"Not particularly," I said. "I'm just…" _Jealous of him._ "I just don't like everything he stands for is all."

Marinette reached her hand out. "You know I'm interested in Adrien. No one else," she said. "Not even Chat."

And that was exactly why I disliked him.

"Chat has blond hair too," I said idly.

"Yeah, but it's not like I have a type. I just… Adrien was nice to me and… I don't know. I just fell in love." She made a face. "All Chat's good for is making bad puns in the middle of battle. It really grates on my nerves."

"Well… what if Adrien was the one making those puns?" I asked. "Would you hate it then?"

"Adrien doesn't make puns," Marinette said.

I wanted to laugh and I wanted to cry at the same time, but instead I changed the subject. "Anyway, art… what if we did a landscape?"

"With reds and oranges? How would that work out?" Marinette asked.

"It'd be sunset," I said in response. "Colors take on a red cast at sunset. We don't need blue or yellow to pull it off."

"I suppose," she agreed. "How about Paris instead of a landscape? Maybe the eiffel tower? It's one of my favorite landmarks…"

"Okay. Sure," I said in response to that and opened up the paints. I turned one of the lids over and poured a bit of red and green into it, mixing the colors together to make brown. "Let's do that then."

"I'll start on the sky," Marinette said, reaching over and taking the orange and white. She stuck her fingers in and I involuntarily winced.

"Okay," I said, taking a breath and doing the same. I felt the paint ooze around my fingers and nearly gagged. It was terrible, that sensation. It was cold and wet and for some reason I could feel it a whole lot more than usual. It was just all around bad.

I started creating the shape of the eiffel tower using the brown paint, building it up into the sky region Marinette was painting. The colors blended together a bit and I reapplied the brown over it, carefully sculpting the tower from memory.

When I painted, usually I knew exactly what strokes to use. It was an entirely different thing, actually feeling the paper under my fingers.

An itch began to build on my chin and I thoughtlessly scratched it.

"Nath," Marinette gasped out, her lips twitching up.

"Wha… oh darn it!" I said, getting up to get a towel or something, but accidentally slid on the tile, falling over ontop the other paints, which sprayed out over our project and my shirt.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked, crawling over to me.

" _This_ is why I hate fingerpainting!" I said in response to that.

Marinette reached over and took the white paint, dipping her fingers in it. "And this is why I _love_ fingerpaints," she said in response and then wiped her fingers on my face.

For a second I was frozen. Did she just…?

"You're asking for it," I growled and grabbed the green.

"Help!" she cried out with a laugh, squirming away from me, but I was too fast, my hand flying out to touch her nose.

Marinette laughed and then grabbed the orange, reaching out for me.

I used the green again, putting a handprint on her arm and a couple fingers on her face.

"Oh the horror!" she cried out in a teasing tone of voice. "The Evillustrator strikes again! I'm positively _painted_."

I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that one. "You're a mess."

"So are you," she said with a laugh.

"So then, how are we going to clean this up?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I guess I'll go get a mop. We still need to finish our painting though, so let's do that first."

"Alright," I said, sitting up next to the now ruined painting. "I guess we can blend the colors to make something, though the eiffel tower seems out of question now."

Marinette stood up suddenly, looking towards the door. "Did you hear that?"

A sense of dread filled me. "Please don't tell me…"

" _LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR! COME OUT AND GIVE ME YOUR MIRACULOUSES!"_ I heard a voice call out from the quad, followed by the sound of my classmates screaming.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said.

I saw a streak of red shoot from her purse to her ears and a flash of light and then Marinette was Ladybug.

"Stay here," she said to me and took off.

"Wait, Ladybug!" I called, but she was already out of sight.

I bit my lip, worry filling me.

"What's wrong?" Vall asked from my pocket.

I took a deep breath. "She still has finger paint on her face."


	11. Chapter 11: Painted Ladybug

"Fox Trick!" I said and Vall zoomed towards my miraculous, light flooding over me.

There was still paint all over me, just like on Ladybug. I could feel it. Which meant she'd recognize me instantly if I went out like this. I looked around, thinking quickly. But there was only one thing I could do. I reached over and grabbed the red paint and quickly smeared it over my face. Hopefully in what looked like warpaint or something like that rather than the dorky manner I was pretty sure it would be, and then I ran out of the classroom.

The akuma in the quad looked like it was one of 's students, wearing a flower patterned dress with light purple skin. She looked surprised to see me, or maybe it was the paint, then looked at Ladybug.

"Give me your miraculous!" she cried and then waved a stick in the air, paint splurting out the end.

"Hey Ladybug!" I called.

"Ren!" she said in surprise, seeing me. She hesitated. "What's with the paint?"

"I thought you were wearing warpaint so I joined in," I said.

She touched her cheeks in surprise. "Oh gosh, um… yeah… that's exactly what I'm wearing." She flushed. "It-It's a new look, you know?"

"I get it. It themes very well with this akuma."

"My Lady!" I heard Chat's voice suddenly as he appeared around the corner. He slowed down when he saw me with her, looking unsure.

"Chat," Ladybug said. "This is Renard Roux. He helped me with Jubilee while you were occupied. He's like us."

"Why didn't you say so to begin with?" he asked, then smiled widely. "Nice to meet you, Ren."

"Likewise," I said in response, though I really didn't have the heart in it.

"What's with the paint?" he asked.

"War paint," I responded then held up the little canister of paint. "Want in?"

"If you guys are doing it, then yeah," Chat said, taking it.

"GIVE ME YOUR MIRACULOUS!" the paint akuma said, obviously not liking the fact that we were ignoring her.

"No can do, sweetheart," I said and then grabbed one of my paintbrushes which were-thankfully-on my arm this time and jumped down.

The brush expanded out in size and I raced towards her, swinging it sharply like a baseball bat.

The akuma let out a squawk and dodged out of the way.

"How dare you-" she said but I didn't even give it a moment, swinging again.

I examined her, looking for some kind of object the akuma could hide in, but all I saw was the stick in her hands. Why would a stick be the cursed object?

It was worth a shot at least.

Chat Noir appeared from the side, his baton swinging in his hands. The akuma barely ducked under and cartwheeled back a few feet, lifting the stick, paint shooting out from the tip.

"She isn't particularly dangerous," I noted.

"Half of the ones we face aren't," Chat said in response. "They're just distractions, I'm guessing."

"You'd think he'd do something different if this method isn't working for him," I muttered and the akuma shot paint directly at me. I barely dodged out of the way, but it hit Chat full on, turning him green.

"Yuck!" he said, wiping it from his face.

"Green is the color of _envy_!" the akuma shrieked then.

Something changed in Chat along with her words and he turned towards me, his expression souring. "She's _my_ lady."

"Oh God," I said, knowing exactly what this was.

"M-Ladybug! The paint affects people!" I shouted, running away just as Chat swung his baton at me.

The cat was fast on my tail, chasing me around the quad.

"Got it!" Ladybug shouted. "Keep him occupied!"

Guess I knew why I needed the paintbrushes.

"Get back here!" Chat shouted, chasing after me.

I wasn't as athletic as the leather-clad superhero, and it showed. I could barely keep ahead of him, my breathing becoming more and more ragged as I ran. I skidded to a stop, spinning around and bringing my paintbrush down on Chat.

He raised his baton to intercept it, a wild grin on his face, then brought his fist up.

 _Wham!_ I couldn't dodge out of the way, stumbling back as my paintbrush fell out of my hands and rolled away.

Well, I was screwed.

 _Wham!_ He punched me again, this time hard enough that it sent me to the ground.

I let out a groan as he put his foot on my chest, holding me down.

"She's mine," he said. "You know that, right? Ladybug is mine!"

An irrational irritation rose up within me. Marinette didn't belong to anyone!

I reached over and grabbed the pen from its grove, pretending I was the Evillustrator for just a moment and making a picture in the air.

Chains suddenly wrapped around Chat Noir and pulled him up into the air, off of me, much to my surprise.

"Let me down!" he roared.

I rolled over and went after the paintbrush that had escaped me, not sparing Chat a second glance.

"Ladybug!" I said.

She gave a nod as if to say she heard me, still engaging with the akuma.

I drew in the air again. Maybe I could trap the akuma?

Nothing happened.

"Thank you universe," I muttered.

I guessed the pen was a one time use thing.

I put it back and then held the paintbrush out, charging to try and distract the akuma.

"Hey, paints-a-lot!" I shouted.

She glanced towards me.

"Lucky Charm!" Marinette shouted, throwing her yoyo up in the air.

A large paintbrush came back down into her hands.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she murmured, looking around.

"Fingerpaints!" I said suddenly.

"What?" Ladybug said in response.

"Fingerpaints!" I said. "The classes here were doing fingerpaints when she got akumatized!"

"So what?"

"We clean up the mess!" I said in response. "Or, more accurately, we paint with actual brushes."

Ladybug's eyes narrowed, but she didn't seem to want to disagree with me. "Okay," she said.

The akuma waved her stick in the air and more paint came out.

I twisted my brush and put it down in the paint, then started running, spreading it out.

Ladybug did the same, racing in the opposite direction. Red and white.

I mixed the colors and then quickly approached Ladybug.

She took some of the pink I made and put it on her brush and then raced forward, sticking her paintbrush on the akuma.

She gasped in surprise, her violet eyes widening. "I...I…" the akuma said. "I love…"

"Quickly!" Ladybug said. "Her stick!"

I grabbed it out of the akuma's hands and brought it down, breaking it in half. A purple butterfly flew out of it.

"No more evil-doing for you pesky akuma!" Ladybug shouted, then threw out her yoyo, grabbing the butterfly.

A moment later, the white butterfly replaced it.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her lucky charm into the air.

Ladybugs swarmed the place, leaving me speechless.

In a moment everything turned back to normal, Chat dropping to the ground. Even the paint on our faces disappeared.

Ladybug smiled at me. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem," I said in response.

"What happened?" Chat said, stumbling over.

"You got hit by the paint," I said.

He sucked in a breath. "Not again," he said.

"Sorry," I said.

Suddenly there was a beeping sound coming from my bracelet. I raised it to see three bars. "Looks like I gotta go," I said. "Catch you later."

"Bye, Ren," Ladybug said.

I ran off then, towards the boy's bathroom. I needed a good excuse to Marinette for why I didn't have paint on my face after this.

One problem, then another.


	12. Chapter 12: Exposed

It wasn't like I planned to get caught.

I really wish I hadn't been.

But I wasn't used to all this secrecy yet. And I didn't know how to detransform in the best places. Places where people would never know.

It didn't change the fact that I was caught.

I got to the boy's bathroom like planned and hid in a stall, letting the transformation wear out.

"Gee," Vall said, floating beside me. "What were you thinking with the paint stuff?"

"I had to think of something," I responded. "That's the best I could come up with."

"Mm," she said noncommittally and then abruptly flew into my pocket, right before the door banged open to reveal Ivan, staring at me with an incredulous look on his face.

"What are you doing?" I said, my voice raising in pitch.

"I should be asking you that," he said in response, staring at me as if he didn't know me.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"I saw you come in here," Ivan said. "Only it wasn't you. It was the new fox guy… Nath… what happened? Why are you running around with Ladybug and Chat Noir? How are you-"

I was caught. I knew it the instant he started to speak. And there was nothing I could say to change that.

I searched for words, only to find they failed me.

Finally, I took a deep breath.

"It's temporary," I said.

"Temporary?"

"I… I'm filling in for… for another hero. I'm just a replacement until they can be found," I muttered, looking down at the ground.

Ivan blinked. "You're filling in? So you're not denying you're the fox person?"

I shook my head. "It's temporary," I repeated.

"How long is this temporary thing?"

"I… I'm not sure."

Ivan paused. "Ladybug and Chat Noir, are they in our school?"

"I can't tell you that," I said, feeling uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. "Ivan, you have to keep this a secret. It's temporary and… I don't want…"

"I get it, dude," Ivan said, running a hand through his hair. "This is heavy."

I nodded. "Yeah, it is."

He was quiet a minute. "I can't tell anyone?"

"No one," I stressed. "Not even Mylene."

His eyes narrowed in a typical Ivan look and then he sighed. "Alright. I'll help you keep this secret. But, in exchange," he held up his first finger, "You have to tell me everything about it."

I hesitated a moment. "Fine," I said.

This couldn't get any worse anyway.

"For now though, we need to get back to class."

He gave a shrug. "Probably right."

I stood there awkwardly a moment before he moved out of the way.

"Thanks," I said, brushing past him.

Ivan was quiet as he followed me, both of us walking back towards the classroom.

I examined my shirt. It was like the paint battle had never happened. There wasn't a spec on my clothes. Not anywhere. It'd be hard to explain to Marinette if she asked.

I supposed I could just tell her it vanished and it had surprised me. She might buy that.

Or I could just tell her I was Ren.

 _"Marinette!" I said, walking towards her with a purpose._

 _She turned towards me, her soft bluebell eyes on my face. "Yes?"_

 _"I need to talk to you."_

 _"What about?"_

 _"I'm Ren."_

Nope. Nope. Nope. That wouldn't work. It just wouldn't. It was too awkward, even in my own head.

Well, Ivan knew. And Ivan wasn't Marinette. Ivan didn't have a big secret that I was keeping from everyone. So why was it so hard to tell the girl I loved that I was the fox she was working with?

When we got back to class, I closed my eyes and took a breath.

 _Calmly, Nathanael,_ I told myself. I needed to pretend Ivan didn't just find something out about me that could potentially be used as blackmail.

"In we go," Ivan said, opening the door.

We were met by the class, who were slowly gathering. On the floor there was the mess I had made, Marinette standing over it with a small frown. She looked up and saw me, her eyes immediately examining my clothes.

I flushed, not knowing exactly what to say. It was weird, right?

"Nathan!" Juleka said, running over and glomping me. "I was so worried. Practically everyone just left the school but I didn't see where you went-"

"I-I was in the bathroom," I mumbled. "It seemed a good place to hide."

She gave a nod and looked up at Ivan. "Were you with him?"

"Yeah," Ivan said. "I had to pull him along, actually."

"I'm glad you're okay," Juleka said with a sigh.

"So that's everyone," Marinette said. "Except . I wonder where she went…"

I gave a shrug. "I didn't see her come back…"

"She's probably still outside," Marinette decided. "We should wait for her to arrive."

"Ugh," Chloe's voice rang out. "I'm going home. This has been too traumatic for me to stay in school."

"Chloe-" Adrien said.

"C'mon, Sabrina," Chloe said, walking towards the door.

"O-Okay," Sabrina said, ducking her head and following Chloe.

I stepped out of the way before she could ask me to move, ducking my head.

Chloe paused in the doorway, her eyes falling on me.

I shivered involuntarily and she turned away, walking out the door without a backwards glance, Sabrina on her heels.

"What was that?" Juleka said. "She looked at you, Nathan."

"Yeah, I noticed," I said shakily. "I wish she hadn't."

Marinette went over to the window, looking out with a sigh. "Everyone," she said. "Take your seats. We'll wait for to come back."

Only she didn't.

Ms. Bustier didn't come back at all.


	13. Chapter 13: Friend Circle

There were very few people I considered friends.

I got along with most the class, at least to some extent, but that was different than being friends with someone.

Juleka was my friend.

Rose was not.

Marinette was my friend.

Adrien was not.

Ivan… existed in a weird pseudo-friend grey area where I wasn't really sure if he was my friend or wasn't. And, if he was my friend, I wondered if I really wanted him to be.

Most of the time, I just simplified this third category and put him on my friend's list.

But, when someone knows a secret about you that could potentially cause huge ramifications, it tends to make you wonder if that person is actually on your side. If he's actually part of your friend circle.

Especially since he snatched my sketchbook away from me only yesterday.

I didn't know if I wanted him to know I was Renard Roux. I actually found the idea that he did know really uncomfortable.

But it didn't change anything.

He already knew. There was no way I was changing that fact. No matter how much I wished...

I mused silently, my head on the desk, trying to avoid looking at Ivan.

I was aware of his presence, right in front of me as we waited for Ms. Bustier. Normally, I didn't mind sitting so close to him but right now…

Right now it was hell.

I became aware of another presence hovering next to me, her scent filling my nostrils.

I looked up to see Marinette standing next to me, a concerned look on her face as she gazed out at the class.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She jolted, as if surprised to hear me speak, then sighed, sitting down in the empty chair next to me.

"Nothing it's just… it's been over an hour since the akuma fight and Ms. Bustier still isn't back."

I leaned a little in her direction, lowering my voice. "Do you think something happened to her?"

"Um… possibly? I don't know. It's...concerning me."

"Do you wanna go look for her?" I asked.

She gave a nod. "Yeah… yeah I do. But I can't just leave everyone…"

"Do you think more people might be taken if you leave?" I asked.

"I… don't know. Maybe there was a second akuma? One we didn't notice? I mean… it's never happened before but…"

"You should go if you think that's the case," I said. "It's more important that you find Ms, Bustier than protect us."

She took a deep breath at that, her eyes softening. "Thank you, Nath," she said, putting her hand on mine and then got up.

Ivan glanced over his shoulder at us, a suspicious look on his face. I shook my head. Desperately hoping he wouldn't connect the dots. Not so soon after he found out about my own secret.

I glanced back up at Marinette as she walked towards the front of the class. "Everyone," she said. "I'm going to look for Ms. Bustier. I want everyone else to stay here. At least until we know her disappearance isn't akuma related."

"You're not going alone," Alya said stubbornly. "I'll come with you."

Marinette shook her head. "No, Alya… I need you to stay here in case… in case there _is_ an akuma and it comes after the class."

"Well you can't go alone," Alya said. "Maybe Adrien-"

"I'll go with her!" I spoke up then, putting my palms on the table and standing. I knew at the least I wouldn't slow her down, especially since I knew her secret.

"Um sure," Marinette said, sounding surprised. She took a breath. "Nathanael will go with me. Does that help, Alya?"

Alya humphed and sat back down. "Alright. I guess it'll do. But don't get killed."

"We won't," Marinette assured her. She glanced towards Adrien, as if she almost wished she could take him with her and then looked up at me.

I quickly rushed down to meet her at the front of the class.

"Good luck," Adrien said, smiling at the two of us.

 _Idiot_ , I thought. But I had to admit, this was a lot better than if Adrien had gone with her.

Marinette gave a nod and led the way out of the room. Once we were clear and the door closed behind us, she murmured, "It'll be easier for me if I'm transformed. Let's find somewhere private."

"A-Alright," I stammered.

She gave me a reassuring smile and led the way down the hall, away from any of the classes.

"I still can't get used to you knowing," she murmured.

"W-When you found out, how did you feel about it?" I asked. "About me knowing?"

She paused. "I'm not really comfortable with it," she admitted. "But you know so… I trust you, I guess."

I was a little disappointed to hear that, but it made sense.

"Sorry," I said, dropping my eyes.

"No," she said, touching my shoulder. "Don't be. I couldn't keep it from you. That's not a bad thing."

"Still. Sorry. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

She sighed in response to that, dropping her hand. "You're a little too perfect sometimes, Nathanael."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Nothing," she said, blushing, then clapped her hands together. "Anyway, I guess this is as good a place as any. Tikki, Spots On!"

I glanced away as light enveloped Marinette and a moment later, Ladybug was standing there, flexing her fingers.

"Alright," Ladybug said, getting her bearings. "Time to start searching for one lost teacher. We should go back to the akuma scene. There really won't be anything there but you never know."

I gave a nod. "Alright," I said.

We went down into the quad and Ladybug began looking around. "Over here," she said, darting to the left suddenly.

There was a scrap of paper on the ground, a picture with and some unknown guy, arms around each other.

"She was definitely here," I muttered.

"But where could she have gone?" Ladybug questioned.

I didn't respond, instead looking at the ground for some sort of clue. The class projects were still scattered around the place, untouched since the akuma incident. I noticed off to the left one picture was skewed.

"There," I said, walking over. There was a footprint in the middle of the picture, then leading away. From what I could guess, it was about the size of Ms. Bustier's shoe. "I guess we follow the paint trail?"

Ladybug gave a nod. "At least we know she went of her own volition. It would have to have been after I lucky charmed or the paint would have cleaned up like your clothes."

I gave a nod. "Yeah. I think you're right."

"Let's go quickly," Ladybug said and then darted forward.

I chased after her, rounding a couple corners, following the trail of paint until we came to the janitor's closet.

Ladybg slowly opened the door and peered in, then let out a gasp.

"What is it?" I asked, pushing the door further open so I could see.

There was a groaning noise and all I could do was stare for a minute.

I could see Ms. Bustier, tied up and blindfolded, sitting on the floor, vainly struggling against her bonds.

"Ms. Bustier!" I said and then went in quickly, going to her.

"Who's there?" she asked as soon as I got the gag out of her mouth. "Nathanael. I'm with Ladybug. We came to find you. What happened?"

"I-I'm not sure," Ms. Bustier said as I worked at the ropes. "I was just looking for any extra students that might have gone somewhere and hidden and then… I think I got hit over the head with something…"

"It's alright," Ladybug said, coming to stand next to me. "I'll find out who did this to you."

I freed Ms. Bustier's hands and she immediately took the blindfold off. "Thank you," she said.

"Do you remember anything else about the attack?" I asked.

Ms. Bustier looked at me with a look that could only be described as surprise. I flushed under her stare before she said, "No. I'm sorry. I just got hit over the head and next thing I knew I was tied up in here. It honestly could have been anyone."

"Let's get you back to class," Ladybug said. "Nathanael, go with her."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm going to try and contact Chat Noir. It doesn't sound like an akuma but… the possibility stands. If there is an akuma…"

"Got it," I said. "And you'll keep an eye on Marinette, right? She's still looking for ."

Ladybug started and then smiled. "Yes. I will. Assure everyone she's with me.

"I will," I said. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you though?"

"I think I can handle it," she said. "Especially with Chat's help."

"A-Alright," I stammered a little.

I couldn't help the sting of envy that came up with the way she said Chat's name. Like she trusted him more than anyone else.

She probably did, even though she had no idea who he was.

I resigned myself to the fact that I was always going to be second-best. In and out of the suit, before I started walking. "Come on, Ms. Bustier."

"Right," she said, following me.

"Catch you later," Ladybug said and ran off.

I relaxed a little the moment she left.

"I'm impressed," Ms. Bustier said.

"I'm sorry?" I said, looking up at her.

"You actually helped Ladybug find me," she said. "Most people would be a stammering wreck when it came to her."

"I… I guess I was too focused on finding you," I said.

"That worried?" she asked.

"The whole class is," I said. "You just disappeared and then Ladybug and I find you bound up like that… are you sure you don't know what happened?"

"I don't think it was an akuma attack," she said with a sigh. "It's…sad to say but humans can cause just as many problems on their own. I think it was a human attack this time. But I'm unhurt. Whatever they were after, it wasn't me."

"Then what do you think they're after? This is a school?"

She bit her lip. "Honestly, I think they're after Ladybug. She always shows up around the school. Either she lives close by or she's one of the students here. I tend to think the latter."

"You might be right," I said. "In that case, I should probably find Marinette."

"Wait until we get to class and take someone with you," she said. "Two are better than one."

I made a quick calculation in my head. "Okay," I said

When we got back to the classroom, immediately everyone noticed there was no Marinette.

"She's with Ladybug," was the simple explanation.

"Nathanael and one other person are going to look for her," Ms. Bustier said.

"Adrien," I immediately said. "Adrien should be the one."

"Alright then. Is that fine with you, Adrien?" Ms. Bustier said.

"Yeah. It's fine," he said getting up.

I waited as Adrien walked towards me, looking more curious than anything.

"Why me?" he asked as we left the room.

"You seem like the best person to help," I said. "Speaking of help. Ladybug is probably preoccupied, looking for Chat Noir. Seems she needs him or something like that."

Adrien blanked. "She is?"

"Yes," I said. "You know what? It'd probably be better if we looked separately. I know Ms. Bustier said to go together, but she didn't say anything about staying together. I'm going to go look for her in the gym."

"Uh… yeah," he agreed then. "Definitely. Looking in separate directions seems good."

He took off then without another word.

 _That's taken care of_ , I thought.

Time for my own investigation.


	14. Chapter 14: Experiments

My first instinct was to become Renard Roux and look for clues.

However, Ivan had just found my secret identity because I was careless, so maybe I needed to stay away from the superhero aspect for a while…

Undecided, I started back towards the closet where Ladybug and I had found Ms. Bustier.

It stood to reason that the assailant was not a student at the school, nor any member of the staff. If they had been, they wouldn't have needed to attack Ms. Bustier like they did. It also stood to reason that it was someone that looked suspicious. What they were doing there in the first place though was rather a mystery.

I looked around the closet, taking stock of what was kept in here.

It wasn't anything really unusual. Brooms, mops, cleaner, so then… what could they have been looking for?

Maybe it wasn't even in here, but this was where they were hiding?

I considered that possibility, running a hand through my hair as I thought.

Alright, so taking stock of what happened today.

There was school, fingerpainting, an akuma that appeared and spewed multi-colored mood-changing paint at us…

The akuma.

I paused, lowering my arm slowly.

What if it was someone who was doing some sort of research on the akumas? What if it was someone who _caused_ the akuma?

I turned to look down the hall, towards Ms. Mendeleiev's class.

I needed to ask the student that got akumatized. She was probably in her classroom, right?

I started walking, keeping my head down. Maybe I could do this without making a spectacle of myself…

" _Ms. Mendeleiev, could I talk to the student that got akumatized breifly?"_

" _Why do you want to do that?" she asked with a disapproving frown._

" _Well you see, Ms. Bustier was hit over the head and-"_

No, that wouldn't work.

" _Well, Ladybug is doing an investigation on the incident-"_

Nope. Not that either.

" _It's… uh… well… "_

I was drawing a blank, even in my own head.

" _I would prefer discussing it with her. This is pretty important though, I promise. I wouldn't be wasting your time if it wasn't."_

That was okay. Not the best, but certainly better than my other ideas.

I got to the door and took a breath before opening it to peek in.

Immediately all eyes turned towards me.

I flushed in embarrassment.

This was going to be so hard to pull off…

"Nathananael," Ms. Mendeleiev said in a surprised tone. "What do you want?"

"Th-the girl that got akumatized… can I talk to her?"

Ms. Mendeleiev sighed in response. "Sorry, Nathanael. I think she went home. She didn't come back to class."

My blood ran cold at that. "She didn't?"

"It's understandable. I just wish she would have checked in before leaving."

The akumatized girl didn't go back to class.

If it weren't for what happened to Ms. Bustier, I probably wouldn't worry about it, but the presence of an intruder on the school grounds meant that this probably wasn't a coincidence.

"D-Does she leave class like that often?"

"Often? She's never done this before. It's the effects of the akuma, I believe," she said in response.

Whispering broke out in the class.

"Ms. Mendeleiev," I said, trying to control my voice. "Did you see anyone strange around? Someone that's not supposed to be on campus?"

"No…" she frowned, her sharp features turning towards a more worried expression. "Is something wrong?"

"I…" I took a breath. "Ms. Bustier got assaulted. Ladybug and Chat Noir are looking into it but… I don't think that girl left of her own volition."

The teacher paled visibly and the whole class exploded, talking to each other loudly, trying to be heard over the commotion that followed.

"Stay here," I said. "Make sure all your students are safe. I'm going to go tell Mr. Damocles."

I left the room before she could object, running down the hall.

If it was a human and not an akuma, then it was out of Ladybug's hands. It was up to the police to find the missing girl.

I noticed that my hands were shaking a little and I clasped them together, looking around. This was getting serious.

Why would the girl be taken after she had been cured?

Why would an intruder hit Ms. Bustier over the head and then tie her up like that?

Why didn't any of this make sense?

Who exactly was it that-

 _Wham!_

There was an excruciating pain in my head and then everything went black.

" _Nathanael!"_

 _..._

"...wake up…"

...

"... please wake up…."

...

The first thing I was aware of was a ringing in my ears.

My head pounded and my cheek was cold, like I was lying on cement in the dead of winter rather than august.

I opened my eyes slowly, only to see black, all around me.

"Wha-?" I sat up quickly.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake," a strange girl's voice came to my left.

I recognized that voice. It was the akuma from earlier.

"What's going on? Why's it so dark?"

"He… he put out the lights about half an hour ago. I think we're in some sort of basement," she said in a low voice.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness and I realized that I could sort of make out the line of the girl kneeling next to me. She reached out, her hand taking mine.

"You're Nathanael, right? From Ms. Bustier's class?"

"Yeah… you're Mireille, right? The weather girl."

"And apparently the fingerpainting akuma," she said dryly. "Yeah."

"Do you know who has us here?"

Mireille shook her head. "I don't recognize him from anywhere. He just looks like an old, middle aged guy. I… I think we've been kidnapped."

I nodded. "Yeah. It would seem so. Don't worry. I'll get us out."

I was surprised by how calm I felt. I felt around and found that we were in a cage. Like the kind of cage that would be used for a large animal instead of a human. It was rather creepy.

I reached towards my pocket and Vall put her soft little paws on my fingers, letting me know she was there.

At the very least, this guy hadn't discovered my secret.

At that moment, there was the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. I shed back, away from the door as a sudden light came on, nearly blinding me.

"Well, well, well. I guess you're finally awake," a man's voice rumbled.

I put my hand up, blocking some of the glare of the light.

"Let us go," I growled.

"I think not," the man said in response. "Two former akuma running around on the street seems like a bad idea to me." He turned his flashlight away and hit a switch, the whole room lighting up.

I got a good look at the man for the first time.

He looked like he was in his mid-fifties with silvery white hair and blue eyes. He wasn't thin, but he wasn't fat either, and he wasn't particularly tall. In fact, he looked like the sort of man that could blend in with a crowd, going unseen if not for his rather bushy mustache and sweat-stained shirt.

I glared at him, trying to act as tough as I could. I was still getting the hang of this superhero thing, and, from the looks of it, I was rather pathetic.

"Why did you bring us here?" I demanded.

"To study you, of course," the man replied. "See, I'm a scientist. I know when something is wrong with the world, and simple deduction states that, whatever Hawk Moth is doing, he's doing for a purpose. He wouldn't keep trying the same methods if they didn't get some kind of result. That's just plain insantity. So it's my job to find out what it is that makes you…" he symbolized the two of us, "into this." He held up a picture of me. Only it wasn't me.

It was a picture of the Evillustrator.

I felt a lump in my throat. So he had been specifically targeting me, not just this girl and I'd walked right into his trap.

"We're human," I said in response.

He shook his head. "You _were_ human. And then you weren't. I don't know if you ever became human again."

"Ladybug purified us," Mireille hissed. "We're not akumas."

"She doesn't know everything," the man said in response. "You can always become akumas again. It's happened before. Remember the Puppeteer? It was the second time I saw you, Evillustrator."

"She was a little girl and that was her power," I growled in response. "You can't blame us for-"

"Enough," the man said. "I don't want to talk to you monsters. I simply want to conduct my experiments."

I paused. "Ladybug will come for us."

"I'm counting on it," the man said in response, his voice grim. "If she doesn't, I'll be sorely disappointed."

"Why do you want her to come?" Mireille asked. "What are you going to do to her?"

"I've always been curious," our captor said then, smiling a slow, devious grin. "Who the girl is behind the mask."

"She'll never tell you!" I spat.

"Of course she won't. But there are more ways than one to discover a hero's secret identity. And you two are the perfect bait."


	15. Chapter 15: Clever Fox

Marinette was in danger.

It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself, even against a human. But I was smart enough to know that he wasn't telling Mireille and me his whole plan.

Which meant that he had something up his sleeve, some way to hurt the girl I loved.

"Bait?" I asked, putting on a surprised face. "Ladybug is going to come after us?"

"Of course she is," he said.

"But she only goes after akuma," I pointed out.

"And you two are akumas," the man said.

I was silent a moment, thinking, then I smiled. "Of course we are," I said.

The man stilled. "What?"

"What?" Mireille said simultaneously.

"I said, of course we're akumas. I mean, why would we just go back to being human because some dumb black-spotted red spandex wearing heroine waves her magic yoyo?"

The man came closer. "I see what you're playing at. You think if you agree with me I'll let you go. But that's not happening."

"No no," I said, shaking my head. "The gig's up, right? No fooling you anymore."

He cast me a doubtful look.

I sighed in response. "See, the thing is, if we _are_ in fact akumas, then you made a very poor choice of which akumas you locked up. There's one that, depending on what color she chooses, can make you do anything she wants," I symbolized Mireille. "And then of course, there's me. As an akuma, I can literally erase these bars and get out. So then," I leaned forward. "What am I waiting for?"

The man hesitated, then frowned. I could see it in his eyes, how desperately he was denying reality.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "I'm going to catch Ladybug with the two of you. And I'm going to find out who she is. And that's the end of that." He walked towards the door.

"You know Hawk Moth would certainly thank you for that," I called out after him. "But think about it before you do it, alright?"

"I'm going to find out who Hawk Moth is too," he declared. "I'll be a hero."

"You'll be in jail," Mirielle declared, "for kidnapping minors!"

"You're akumas," he said. "Once I reveal the truth, no one is going to care." He walked up the stairs then and turned off the light, leaving us in darkness again.

"This is bad," Mirielle said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "We have to get out of here."

I could faintly see Mirielle reach out, grabbing the bars of the cage and pulling on them. "It's no use. We're stuck."

"Don't say that," I said. "Just give me a minute. I'll think of something."

Mirielle looked at me expectantly, waiting.

It was odd, being in a position where I had to make some kind of plan up on the spot.

If I was willing to risk my secret identity, I could transform into Renard Roux and get us out immediately… but there was the danger of the guy upstairs… and I didn't really know Mirielle. At least with Ivan it was someone I _knew._ This girl… I just remembered her from the television and all those awful campaigns to become weather girl.

I glanced down at my pocket and Vall gave me a nod of reassurance, as if to tell me I could do this.

I took a breath, then began taking in my surroundings.

There wasn't anything that immediately stuck out to me. Just leaves and dirt, everywhere.

It was a very dirty basement.

Of course the table had something on it, but I couldn't quite see from this angle, so that was out of the question, even if I could reach it…

So then, all I could count on was what I had on me.

I felt myself up, looking for something… anything.

I pulled out my phone.

Okay… so he hadn't taken those away…

I looked at the bars.

So that was why.

There was no service where we were.

I winced and then turned the light of the phone around, searching for anything I might have missed.

I didn't have anything on me that helped and…

Mirielle.

I hadn't checked Mirielle.

I glanced up at her, examining her quickly.

"Hey," I said. "Do you wear bobby pins in your hair?"

"A… couple… why?" she asked warily.

"I only need one," I said, putting my hand out.

She nodded and reached up into her hair, dropping a bobby pin into my hand.

I took it from her and then broke it in half,, going closer to the lock.

"Hold this for me," I said, handing her my phone and then stuck the top of the bobby pin in, bending it to the left, followed by the straight end which I bent horizontally.

"What are you doing?" Mirielle asked.

"Lockpicking," I said.

"How do you know how to do that?" she asked.

"My mom isn't the most stable," I said in response. "She didn't give me keys until I was twelve so… I learned how to get in the house another way."

"Sorry," Mirielle said.

I shook my head. "It's alright. Just give me a moment."

I turned the bobby pins, hearing the tiny clicks as the lock gave way.

The door fell open then.

"Right," I said. "Now is the hard part."

"Hard part? But I thought getting out of the cage was going to be hard."

"Yeah, but now we have to get around that guy, whoever he is."

She gave a nod and handed me back my phone. I pocketed it and the lockpicks and thought for a minute before pulling the cage closed.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We don't know his schedule yet. We need to know when and where he's going to be. I bet if we listen we can hear his footsteps overhead. It'll help us get out."

Mirielle obviously didn't like it, but she gave a short nod. "Alright. We'll do it your way."

I gave a nod and then we waited.

I could hear footsteps overhead, like I'd thought. He seemed to be pacing back and forth.

Ten steps, twelve steps back, right turn…

Was he walking between rooms?

Sounded like it.

Alright then, assuming that those were rooms…

The footsteps abruptly stopped.

I strained, trying to hear anything, but nothing…

Perfect.

He'd probably sat down somewhere.

"Okay," I said in a low voice. "Here's our chance. We got to be fast though."

Mirielle nodded. "Alright. I'll follow you."

I opened the cage door and slid out, trying to keep quiet. I walked up to the stairs and slowly made my way up, Mirielle right behind me.

I could faintly hear a television set, and, from the sound of it, that's what the guy was listening to.

Alright. So we had to navigate a house we didn't know to get out.

"Worse comes to worse," I muttered. "I'll distract him and you get out, warn Ladybug not to come alone."

"What about you?"

"I can get out somehow," I said in response. "But hopefully I'll be right behind you, or both of us will get out. But don't come back for me."

Mirielle grimaced. "Alright."

I opened the door then, trying to keep quiet.

 _Squeak!_

The wood complained and immediately I heard footsteps.

"Run!" I instructed, then charged out of the basement, Mirielle on my tail.

The basement came out into the kitchen and our kidnapper stood in front of the door, essentially trapping us.

I didn't even really have time to hesitate.

I ran at him, bowling him over with my slight weight.

Caught off-guard, the man fell over. Mirielle moved past me quickly, running through the house.

"Punk kid!" the man shouted, swinging his fist at me.

I rolled off quickly, jumping to my feet.

 _You can do this_ , I told myself. _You've fought akumas worse than this guy._

But there was something very real about fighting another human that just didn't translate when fighting an akuma.

He made a move to tackle me and I barely got out of the way, running for the door.

He chased after me, shouting curses.

"It's locked!" Mirielle said.

"Unlock it!" I said in response.

I got to the door and turned the deadbolt, throwing it open and pushing Mirielle out.

The first thing I noticed was that we weren't in Paris.

There were no buildings, no streets, no roads. Just rolling grass.

We were obviously somewhere in France, but we could have been anywhere.

I heard the sound of something cocking. Something like…

I turned quickly, my eyes widening, then pushed Mirielle down.

 _Bang!_

The man had a freaking gun!

I couldn't believe it. Our luck had gone from bad to a whole lot worse very quickly.

"It'll be okay, Mirielle," I said. "Just run!"

She nodded and took off, too scared to do anything else.

I turned back towards the man. I needed to hold him off long enough for her to get away.

"I'm going to kill you, kid!" the man said. "I'll be praised as a hero! The first one to kill akumas!"

"You're sick!" I shouted in response.

There was no choice. No time.

The man raised the gun, pointing it straight at me.

"Fox-"

 _BANG!_


	16. Chapter 16: Leave this to the Police

I was dead.

The End.

But that, of course, wasn't true.

It was funny how little I thought it would affect Marinette's life if I died in that moment.

She would still be Ladybug.

She would still go on to bake cookies and marry Adrien and have a lot of golden haired babies.

She might think about me from time to time, wonder how it was I died, but she wouldn't dwell on it too heavily.

It wasn't like we were in love, after all.

I was the only one with a crush.

I squeezed my eyes tight, waiting for a blow that never came.

Instead I heard a whistling sound and felt wind on my face.

I peeked open my eyes to see Ladybug standing in front of me, her yoyo swinging in a perfect arc so fast I could only see solid red.

"Dammit!" the man said, reaching to reload the gun, but Ladybug was on him in a heartbeat, her yoyo swinging around to catch the barrel of the gun, yanking the monstrosity away from him.

"Catch," she said to me, right before my hands were filled with shotgun.

"Mar-" I stopped myself. "Ladybug, he's laid some kind of trap for you. Mirielle and I were the bait."

She gave a nod of understanding. "I figured as much," she said, then smiled. "Which is why I didn't come alone."

The man's upper lip quivered, mustache and all as he heard her words, then looked up.

"Hey," Chat said, peering down on him from the roof of the house.

He disappeared back into the house, closing the door quickly.

"Well bummer," Chat said.

"We have to go after him," Ladybug said.

"He has some kind of trick," I said, trying desperately to warn her. "I don't know what it is, but if you play by his rules, you'll get hurt."

"What do you suggest then?" she asked, looking at me.

I paused. "He thinks Mirielle and I are akumas. If we give him akumas… maybe he'll come back outside."

"At this rate, he's going to become an akuma," Chat said from above. "Nathanael, you should get out of here. Ladybug and I can handle this. We've fought against worse."

I shook my head. "This guy is a fanatic. And he obviously doesn't care about killing if it comes to it. Akumas never go to kill anyone unless you're there to stop them. It's like Hawk Moth doesn't want anyone to die. But this guy…."

"I get it," Ladybug said. "Thank you for your advice, but we need to take care of this before he goes to kidnap someone else."

"He's human," I said in response. "On this… I think you should let the police handle it."

Both the superheroes looked surprised when I suggested that.

"But-" Chat started.

"You handle akumas. You don't handle humans. That's the police's job. They're better prepared for it. They know what they're doing."

Ladybug mused a moment. "Maybe he's right, Chat," she said in response to that.

I felt instant relief. "Then-" I started.

"But we're here now," she continued. "And he made it personal by kidnapping you," she said, her voice more firm. "I'm going to take him down myself."

"Lady-"

She cut me off suddenly, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, Nath," she said, her voice soft. "This will only take a minute."

Chat was glaring daggers at me as he hopped down, ready to follow Ladybug inside.

"You can't-" I started, but neither of them were listening to me at this point.

"Alright, mister," Ladybug said and kicked down the door, walking into the house, Chat on her heels.

I didn't know what the man had planned, but I knew it was something. He wouldn't take on a pair of superheroes without a plan. He wouldn't take on just one without a plan.

And that meant-

 _BANG!_

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Silence.

I held my breath, too scared to move for a minute, then I heard footsteps coming back to the door.

I froze and saw the man from before peeking his head out, a smirk on his lips.

"Your turn, Evillustrator!"

My first thought, seeing the guy standing there with another gun and no sign of Chat and Ladybug?

I was sad to say I wasn't thinking about Marinette.

I was too scared.

All I could think was " _Run!"_

Of course that wasn't going to work, a bullet was a lot faster than I was.

But Marinette hadn't exactly left me defenseless.

I lifted up the shotgun and took a shot, missing him and hitting the doorframe with a loud noise.

The man jolted back, surprised, as if he had forgotten that I, too, now possessed one of his firearms.

He disappeared back into the house and I took the opportunity to run around to the side of it.

And _that's_ when I came to the obvious conclusion that Ladybug was probably hurt.

My hands shook and I bit my lip, desperately trying not to cry.

I couldn't afford to.

If only she'd listened to me…

Maybe he hadn't hurt them, though. Maybe he shot at them until they fell into whatever trap he had set.

Yeah… maybe.

But either way, it was obvious I couldn't wait for the police.

I opened my pocket and looked at Vall expectently.

"It's going to be alright," she assured me, her voice soft. "You can save them. I know you can."

"Fox Trick," I said.

I was enveloped in a warm, soothing light as Vall disappeared into my miraculous. I was scared, I honestly was.

I'd only fought akumas in the past, and only a couple at that. I'd been doing this for only a couple days. No way was I prepared for whatever this guy was.

And that's when it occured to me.

Chat said he was likely to become an akuma…

All he needed was the right push.

Akumas don't kill. They're something I _knew_ I could fight.

"Alright then," I said to myself in a low voice. "Operation make akuma is a go."

And then I heard Marinette scream.


	17. Chapter 17: Bear Trap

Imagine, for a moment, that there is someone in the world that is absolutely perfect.

Maybe not in the sense that they have no flaws, but they're perfect in that their flaws give them personality, make them human, that you fall in love with them and you can't imagine a life without them.

And then, for one dreaded moment, you think they might be dead.

Or maybe hurt.

Or both.

The rational part of your mind tells you that you're overreacting, that there could be some other explanation for that terror you feel. Maybe things aren't quite how you perceive it. Maybe they aren't hurt at all.

And then you hear a scream.

For me, that scream told me so many things at once that I had hoped were not true that all I could do was shudder.

And then I went into action.

I took stock of what I had first on me.

I didn't have my paintbrushes.

No surprise, since I was going up against a human.

I did have a gun.

But Nathanael had had a gun. This gun.

Which meant that, as tempting as it was, I couldn't use it.

So I had to find some other way to distract public enemy number one, save Marinette, and probably Adrien while I was at it, and somehow prevent any of our secret identities from coming out.

Good luck, right?

On top of everything else, I only knew one thing in particular.

I had to provoke this guy into wanting Hawk Moth's help.

I lifted my miraculous and noticed that it was glowing red.

I had no idea why it was glowing, or why it had glowed that time against Jubilee.

It was actually pretty weird.

But it made me pause and think.

I didn't have my paintbrushes.

But that didn't mean I didn't have any help…

I had to provoke this guy into believing Hawk Moth could help him…

And Ren wasn't famous yet.

So then…

I ran to the front of the house, my ears twitching, straining for a sound.

"Let go of me!" Ladybug gasped out. "No! Don't touch him! Let go!"

She was well enough to talk at least.

I stepped into the house cautiously, keeping my eyes peeled for movement.

I couldn't hear Chat Noir's voice. I could hear Marinette distinctly, but Adrien…

I peered around the corner and spotted Ladybug, straining against the grip of the kidnapper, and Chat Noir on the ground, a gaping wound in his side.

I choked back nausea. I had to help them. Now.

"Hey…" I didn't know what to call him. "... guy…?" I finished lamely. "Let them go!"

The man turned towards me in surprise, his eyes narrowing. "A fox?" he said.

"Yeah, a fox," I said, raising my fists. "This is your one chance."

"Ren! Get out of here!" Ladybug said.

I wondered for a moment why she wasn't fighting back. Not really. She could kick this man's butt, right?

Then I noticed her leg. She wasn't really moving it and it was bent at a weird angle.

She _couldn't_ fight back.

I clamped my jaw shut, glaring daggers into the man who had hurt my lady.

I quickly analyzed what it would take to beat the man up and quickly rushed him.

However, I wasn't anticipating that he actually _knew_ what he was doing too.

He twisted quickly, pulling Ladybug with him, then pushed her to the side so she fell sharply to the ground, letting out a small groan of pain.

He then brought his fists up and took a punch, hitting me square in the jaw.

I fell back and he seized the opportunity, drawing a knife.

"You're like them, punk? A miraculous holder? Or maybe you're an akuma who pretends he's a hero," he said, then his eyes widened momentarily and I felt like something clicked in his head. He grinned wider. "Oh, I see. You're both."

"Shut up!" I said and then took a swing at him.

He brought the knife towards me at the same time and I quickly retreated.

I didn't have much of a choice.

I needed a weapon. Fast.

I looked around and found myself next to the fireplace.

I picked up the pokey-looking thing and held it in front of me, the best makeshift sword I could get.

He took another swing at me and I brought the poker up, blocking his attack, stepping to the side quickly.

I glanced towards Ladybug. She was leaning over Chat Noir in a protective way, like she thought that she could protect him in the state she was in.

God, I loved that girl.

Which meant I needed to do my best!

I darted out of the way, moving with an almost animal-like grace, something that I knew I couldn't do outside the suit, dancing around the man as he swung his knife, nearly blinded with rage.

"I'm going to get you, fox-boy," he snarled.

I leapt up on the table, stretching out my arm with the poker. He brought his knife down at that moment, cutting my arm.

I let out a cry of pain and scrambled back.

He moved as fast as a viper. There was really no way I was going to win this easily.

A beeping sound caught my attention and I glanced towards Chat Noir to see his ring flashing.

Ladybug and I exchanged a look and I reacted quickly, barrelling headlong into the man and sending him flying from the room.

Using the element of surprise, I quickly followed up, chasing him from the room with Ladybug and Chat Noir.

He took a few steps back and then ran towards the basement.

Good for me.

I pursued him quickly, racing to the steps.

I was cautious, but it was more important that I take him down than anything.

I might know Chat Noir's secret identity, but Ladybug couldn't move him like this and the man…

He shouldn't know.

"Evillustrator," the man hissed, his eyes flashing. "I wonder what Paris would think, knowing that the fox is secretly an akuma!"

"You're confused, old man," I said in response, but didn't elaborate past that, taking another swing at him.

He countered quickly, a sadistic grin on his face. "Don't play dumb, boy. I'd recognize that mop of red hair anywhere, mask or no mask. You're really a stupid kid, you know? But that's okay." He backed up into the table as I advanced on him. "Cause you aren't going to be around much longer!"

There was a sound and suddenly sharp pain ran through my leg.

I fell over with a yell. I glanced at my leg to see a bear trap wrapped around my lower leg.

My miraculous shined a brighter red, illuminating the near darkness.

"Ha ha ha!" the man laughed, dancing around me. "I've got you, kid!" he shouted, a crazed look in his eyes. "You thought you could escape me? That you could fight me? _Me?_ " he laughed again, this one sounding much more hysterical. "I'll _always_ win!"

"No you won't," I said through gritted teeth. "You can't!"

"I just did." He reached forward, grabbing me by the hair and lifting me up, his hand going for my miraculous.

Pain.

All I knew was the pain.

It was overwhelming me, encompassing me.

A more feral part of me rose up then and I bared my teeth.

His hand closed around my miraculous.

And the world turned red.


	18. Chapter 18: Dollmaker Part 1

The next thing I knew, I was on top of the man, my teeth buried in his shoulder, my hands holding him down.

He was yelling in pain, kicking my middle and I tasted blood in my mouth.

I couldn't tell if it was mine, or his, but either way it tasted good.

The pain in my leg was dulled out, adrenaline surging through my veins.

I bit down harder, my ears laid back against my head.

"Let go!" he cried, kicking me again. "Let go!"

I took my mouth off of him, smiling to cover how sick my stomach felt. "Only another akuma could beat me," I said in response to that, then the smile dropped. "You threatened to kill me." My grip tightened. "I should kill you."

At that moment, I noticed something black flying down into the basement.

 _Here it is!_ I thought, then took the precious few moments I had to try and get the bear trap off.

I groaned in pain, pulling the trap apart with my hands and sliding my leg out right before it slammed shut.

I was bleeding a lot from the wound, but it didn't look like as much as it should have been. My miraculous was probably protecting me, mitigating the damage.

"Hawk Moth!" I heard the man shout before he transformed in front of my eyes.

His clothing was the first thing that changed, the sweat-stained shirt disappearing and in its place, a button down shirt, vest, and tie. His pants changed, turning to slacks and his shoes changed to dress shoes. As the black bubbled around him, his skin turned a bright, impossible blue color and his eyes turned a toxic green. He had two extra sets of arms, holding different tools which shone ominously in the half-light.

"Renard Roux," he said with a sneer. "I am the Dollmaker and I will take Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses."

"No you won't," I said with relieved smile.

An akuma was something I could handle, even injured.

I pushed myself up to my feet, wincing as my leg protested in pain.

"You just made your biggest mistake, Dollmaker," I didn't hesitate any longer.

If I was right, then he couldn't kill me when he was under Hawk Moth's control. Which meant I only needed to worry about defeating him.

I couldn't help the wave of relief that passed over me.

I threw a punch at him, jumping up as the Dollmaker tried to sweep my legs out from under me.

My body felt more fluid, less jerky. It was like I knew what was going to happen, every move laid out before me.

The Dollmaker threw his scissors out in front of him and I jumped up, grabbing that arm and throwing him overhead.

He weighed a lot more than I expected. My wrist buckled under the pressure, but I managed to get him on his back.

The Dollmaker's extra arms quickly moved, a small, black cloth doll being thrown into the air. As it came down, it turned into Ladybug, who looked surprised.

"Ren!" she said, her voice startled.

"La-" I started, but the Dollmaker kicked me in the stomach.

Ladybug suddenly grabbed me from behind, pulling me off of Dollmaker.

I was so shocked, for a moment I didn't react, my brain going numb.

"Ladybug, what are you doing?" I said.

"Don't struggle, Renard Roux," she hissed into my ear.

I glanced down at her leg and then froze.

This wasn't Ladybug, even though it looked like her.

I hissed in pain and then shoved my elbow into her, trying to get her off, but her arms wrapped firmly around me. She didn't even look like she was hurt by any of the damage I was trying to inflict.

"You're done for, Renard Roux," Dollmaker said, getting up with a grin.

"Not quite," I said through gritted teeth and then I grabbed Ladybug's arms and pulled, as hard as I could.

There was a noise, like fabric tearing and Ladybug let go of me.

Dollmaker paled and then immediately ran from the room.

I pushed the doll off of me and it reverted back to its original form, tears in both its arms.

I chased after Dollmaker quickly, taking the steps two at a time.

He didn't even stop though, running out of the house.

I paused at the doorway before I heard a beeping in the other room.

"Ladybug," I said, turning and rushing back to where she was.

"Ren! Get out of here!" she said, her voice choking as she covered her earrings with one hand.

"You're hurt," I said.

"Go! Go after him!" she said.

I paused and then rushed out of the house.

I looked around, but I couldn't see Dollmaker anywhere. He'd already gotten away.

I ran to the side of the house and detransformed. I couldn't go after Dollmaker, but I could help Marinette.

I knew if she was running out of time, then Adrien was too. And he was still unconscious. I needed to call for help, if Mirielle hadn't done it already.

"Vall," I said, looking at my kwami. "What do I do?"

She shrugged and dived for my pocket. "Help them," she said. "Things happen for a reason, Nath. Trust your instincts."

I slowly went back towards the house, anxiety building within me.

There was a flash of white light in the window.

I picked up the pace, coming back inside.

"Marinette," I said, seeing her.

She visibly relaxed. "Oh thank god, Nathanael. I thought you might have been hurt. But why did you come back you needed to go for help-"

"I… I couldn't leave," I choked out and quickly went to her, kneeling next to her. I glanced at her leg and then turned my attention to Chat Noir, who was still bleeding. "You two took a beating."

"I should have listened to you," she gushed. "We couldn't handle this. If Renard Roux hadn't shown up when he did, we'd be dead."

"I saw him leave," I lied easily, wincing slightly at how wrong the words sounded in my ears. "I don't think he's going to catch the akuma though. His miraculous was flashing."

Marinette gave a nod. "I guess…" she looked down at my leg. "Nathanael! You're bleeding!"

I put my hand on it. "It's not that bad," I assured her. "Not as bad as you and Ad-Chat Noir."

Marinette's eyes widened, catching my slip. "You know who he is?" she asked, looking down at him, then grabbed his gloved hand. There was two bars left on the ring.

"You're going to find out for yourself soon enough," I muttered. And when that happened…

My throat tightened.

When Marinette found out who Chat Noir really was, I… I would lose my chance at winning her heart forever.

A swell of resentment stirred up inside me.

I tried so hard. But I could never be good enough for her. I just couldn't compete with Adrien Agreste. Not as Renard Roux and not as Nathanael Kurtzberg. I was useless.

"I can't…" Marinette said. "Nathanael, is there some way to cover his face so I don't see?"

I hesitated. "No," I said finally. "You can't even walk out of the room, Marinette.

"Don't give up!" a tiny voice said.

A small red and black… bug popped her head up beside Marinette.

"Tikki-" Marinette started.

"Tikki?" I asked.

"Hi," Tikki said, flying up. "I'm a kwami. Marinette's my chosen. I haven't had an opportunity to introduce myself."

"Introductions are going to have to wait," I said quickly. "Do you have any ideas for keeping Chat's identity secret?"

The ring beeped and dropped a mark.

Tikki shook her head. "But I hear you're clever. Maybe you can move Marinette out of the room?"

"Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to work. Mireille escaped. Her first move will be to call the police. And all three of us need medical attention," I took a breath. "And… you won't be disappointed with who's behind the mask."

Marinette gulped. "I'm worried about him. He hasn't woken up and-"

"When his suit is off, he's going to bleed a lot more," I said. "We need to treat his wound as best we can when that happens."

I got up and left the room quickly, going to the bathroom. Vall zoomed out of my pocket, phasing through the cupboards. "In here!" she said excitedly.

I opened the cupboard to see a rather large kit of medical supplies. "Looks like this guy has everything."

Vall nodded. "You sure about keeping your identity secret from Marinette?"

"One shock per day should be fair enough," I said. "I can always tell her tomorrow."

Vall hesitated, her amber eyes examining me, then gave a nod. "I want you to know I trust you, Nath. No matter what. Foxes are tricksters, but we protect our own."

I swallowed. "Yeah," I managed to say, giving her a half smile. "Adrien's first."

Vall zipped back into my pocket and I left the bathroom, going quickly to where Marinette and Chat were.

His eyes fluttered open for a moment before he was gone again.

"Are you up for this?" I asked Marinette, looking at her leg.

She reached out, putting her hand on my arm in a reassuring manner. "It's just broken," she said. "I'm more worried about Chat."

I nodded.

 _Beep! Beep!_

A green light enveloped Chat Noir then, spreading quickly as his transformation timed out.

Marinette's bluebell eyes widened in surprise.

"Adrien?"

"Kid! Hey kid!" a new voice cut in.

A small black cat kwami hovered over Adrien's face. He glanced up towards me and Marinette.

"Help him. Please!" the kwami begged.

"It's okay, Plagg," Tikki said, putting her soft pads on his shoulders. "They'll take care of him."

I got to Adrien's other side and started working, opening the kit and finding the bandages.

"Get his shirt up," I instructed Marinette as I unwrapped the bandages. "I need to get this around tight."

Blood was quickly seeping through his white shirt, collecting in the pool of blood on the ground.

Marinette nodded and pulled his shirt up quickly. I placed a couple of pads on his wound and then began wrapping it, lifting him just enough to thread the bandages under and then over again, pulling tight.

Marinette was completely silent, staring at Adrien's face the whole time like she couldn't believe her eyes.

"You knew," she said in a low, quiet voice. "You knew he was Adrien. That's why you said you didn't like Chat Noir."

"Not now," I said, gritting my teeth as I tried to tie the bandages, the blood on my fingers making my grip slippery.

Tears collected at the corners of her eyes. "Oh God! You knew from the time you found out about me, right? I mean, it was obvious," she gave a half-laugh.

"No, I didn't," I said. "I figured it out a couple days ago." I pulled the knot tight, then checked his side again. The bleeding seemed to have slowed down quite a bit. "We can talk about it later. Not right now."

Marinette shifted forward and then cried out in pain at her sudden movement.

Immediately Adrien's green eyes flew open, like he was responding solely to that pain.

"Lady-" he started, but stopped when he saw Marinette and me. "Wha-"

"It's okay, Adrien," Marinette said, giving him a watery smile. "We're going to be okay."

He glanced around and then started to move.

My hands immediately flew out, almost instinctively, holding him down. "No," I said. "You're hurt pretty bad. Don't move."

"But Ladybug-"

"Is fine," I said sternly. "Ish."

"Ish?" he repeated.

"Adrien," Marinette said suddenly. "It's, um, our transformations wore out and…"

"Our?" he echoed and then his eyes widened as if it was suddenly starting to click in his head. "Marinette, you're-"

I got up. "I'm going to call the police. Just to make sure they're on their way," I said. "You two get your story straight."

Their kwamis watched me as I walked around them, but I hardly glanced their way. That was a private moment I shouldn't have been a part of. It shouldn't have happened that way. And it was my fault. This whole thing… if I'd been able to convince Marinette not to attack, then her leg wouldn't have been broken and Adrien wouldn't have been shot and I…

I glanced at my leg.

It didn't really hurt. It just felt stiff and itchy.

I didn't know if that was a good sign or not, but…

Things got a lot more complicated. Maybe it was unfair not letting Marinette know about me being Ren. She knew about Chat now. So maybe…

I heard the sounds of sirens then, coming up the road.

I went out and stood on the porch, waiting for them to get close.

No. I couldn't tell Marinette yet.

I had this guilty feeling building inside me, growing with each day that passed. But I couldn't tell her. Not yet.


	19. Chapter 19: Of Rejection and Mothers

I wasn't good enough.

I was a liar.

I wasn't clever enough.

She'd gotten hurt because of me.

As my adrenaline died down and I had time to think about it, things got worse and worse inside my own head.

I closed my eyes, just listening to the sounds of the sirens.

I wasn't good enough.

Not for anything.

The police got out of their cars, running up.

I took a breath. "Marinette and Adrien are in there," I said, pointing. "They're both badly hurt. The guy turned into an akuma."

The officers rushed in and a paramedic came over, immediately spotting my leg.

"Young man, are you hurt?" he asked.

"Where's Mirielle?" I asked.

"Over here!" Mirielle shouted, coming out of one of the squad cars. She rushed up. "I got help like you asked. What happened?"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up," I said. "But they didn't defeat the guy he ran away. Turned into an akuma. Adrien and Marinette were here too, in another room. They're badly hurt."

"What happened to your leg?" Mirielle gasped.

"Oh, um, bear trap," I said. "It doesn't really hurt."

"Young man, come with me," the paramedic said. "Let me look at it."

I obliged, limping only slightly as we walked to the ambulance.

He pulled up my pant leg and I was honestly taken aback by how bad the wound looked.

The skin was sharply cut in a circular form, blood running from the wounds down my leg. But it didn't hurt, even still. It just felt itchy.

"This is bad," the paramedic muttered and then immediately got out a first aid kit. "You'll need to come to the hospital."

"Understood," I said.

I glanced towards the door as some of the other paramedics began rushing around. A moment later I spotted a stretcher being pulled into the house.

"Think they're going to be okay?" I muttered, mostly to myself.

Mirielle gave me a small smile. "Once the akuma is caught, then Ladybug does her lucky charm, right? Reverses any damage the akuma does."

"That's any damage done while he's an akuma," I pointed out. "He wasn't an akuma when he hurt us."

Her smile dropped. "Oh. Well… maybe it'll make an exception?"

I shrugged, not knowing how else to answer. "You did good, calling the cops," I said instead.

She flushed, looking down at her feet and pushing a strand of her short hair behind her ear. "It was just a phone call," she mumbled. "You were way more impressive, getting us out like that."

My spirits lifted a little at that. Yeah, maybe I hadn't caught the bad guy, but I'd saved Mirielle, right?

"T-Thank you," I said.

 _Stop stuttering!_ I scolded myself.

"You really acted like a hero back there," she continued, gazing at the front door. I spotted the stretcher coming back out, a mop of blond hair ontop. So it seemed like Adrien was okay. Ish.

I relaxed a little bit at that.

I may have disliked Adrien because he was my romantic rival, but I definitely didn't want to see him dead.

"We didn't really have much of a choice," I said to Mirielle. "Anyone would have done the same."

"That's untrue," Mirielle disagreed. "I don't think even Ladybug in that case would have been able to get out like that."

"Well thanks for saying that, Mirielle," I said, giving her a soft smile. "But I don't think that's true."

She sighed. "Boys. You can be so stupid sometimes." She turned her head just as Marinette came out of the building, being helped by a couple of the paramedics. "I'll, um, go wait in the squad car. You can talk to your crush."

"You know?" I asked, surprised.

Mirielle rolled her eyes. "Well, I hear more about the will they won't they of Marinette and Adrien, but… after the Evillustrator thing, your crush has been common knowledge. Pretty much everyone at school knows."

I flushed. "That's great," I said sarcastically.

Mirielle poked my cheek and gave a smile. "Hey, if you ever get over her, let me know, okay? _I_ think you're kinda cool." She walked off then, before I had a chance to reply to that.

Marinette was practically carried over and set down very gently next to me.

She had a makeshift cast on her leg, holding the break in place.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Better than Adrien," she said in response, glancing over at me. "Um… how long… exactly have you known about the… the _thing_ with Adrien?"

"It's a long story," I said slowly. "But, honestly, I was too focused on you to really notice him at first that he was… do you still like him? Even after learning about the puns?"

Marinette paused, blinking at me, then nodded slowly. She gave a soft laugh, blushing. "Honestly, I might even like him more now. I mean, I always knew he was brave, but I had no idea how brave he really was until…"

I diverted my gaze, unable to stand the sight of her blushing like that because of him.

"Nath," she breathed and reached over, touching my shoulder. "You always knew that I'd never fall in love with you, right? I mean… I don't view you like that. You're my friend but-"

"It's fine," I interrupted.

I didn't want to hear any more. It was too painful.

My heart was pounding, an aching feeling coming to my chest. Even after all of this, I wasn't good enough for Marinette. I'd never be good enough for her.

And Adrien was.

I couldn't even deny that.

He was brave, academically superior to me, good looking, a model, a superhero… he was everything I could never be.

I felt a rush, like cold water sweeping over me.

Who was I kidding?

Renard Roux? A superhero?

I felt more myself as Evillustrator than I ever felt as Renard Roux, the owner of the fox miraculous.

Maybe there was some kind of darkness in me that I just couldn't get rid of.

Maybe Marinette knew it and that's why she couldn't ever feel that way about me.

I was defective.

My mom knew it.

The school seemed to know it.

Marinette probably knew that too.

"No, it's not," Marinette said softly. "You're a great guy, Nathanael. Smart, funny. If… if Adrien wasn't around then maybe I would have… but I love him. More than anything. More than even my life. I'd give up anything for him in a heartbeat. Even my own life."

"That's how I feel about you," I blurted out. "I can't get you out of my head, Marinette, I love-"

She put her finger over my lips, giving me a soft smile. "I know, Nath. Believe me. And I understand how much it hurts when I'm honest but… I think… in the long run… it's going to hurt more if I don't tell you now. You're smart, incredibly clever, brave… there are so many things that I admire about you. I feel bad knowing that I can't return your feelings. I really wish I could. But I can't." She dropped her hand. "And I never will." She took a deep breath. "I want to be your friend, first and foremost. If you can't be around me after this, I'll understand. But… I _do_ want to be a part of your life. To be there for you in the only way I can."

My throat closed up. "I… I understand," I said hollowly.

It was official then.

I had known I didn't stand a chance but this…

I could feel the pain in my leg then, throbbing under me.

This hurt worse than I'd ever thought it would.

I stared out, quiet a minute, thinking it over. "I… I'll be your friend, I guess. I might… need some time to process but… even if it's just as friends, I don't want to lose you."

"Take all the time you need," she said softly. She gave a half-hearted laugh. "I need to go after that akuma. Somehow."

"Dollmaker?" I looked over at her, then at her leg. "You can't."

"I'll find a way," she said firmly. "I'm the only one that can cleanse akumas. I _have_ to stop him."

"Maybe that fox guy can do it for you," I said.

She shook her head. "If he's anything like Chat Noir and Ladybug, he can't do it alone." She sighed. "This is a mess. I should have just listened to you."

"It wasn't your fault," I said softly.

"But it was," she responded. "My carelessness, my fault. But I'm not going to make the same mistake twice." She smiled at me. "When you're done processing, I want you to help. I…I've been thinking we need someone of your intelligence helping out."

"My grades are really average-" I started.

"I'm not talking about your book smarts. Maybe intelligence isn't the right word… clever. You're clever, Nathan. You figure things out faster than anyone I know and you can judge situations better."

"Thanks?" I said. "But I don't have any powers. I'm not useful like-"

"Don't say that," she said firmly. "I know you aren't like us, but I trust you." She took my hands, giving them a squeeze. "Help us, Nath. You don't have to fight with us to do it."

I didn't respond for a moment, looking at her, then, "Marinette… there's something-"

"We're ready to go!" one of the paramedics said suddenly and came over to us. "We're taking both of you to the hospital. We'll treat your injuries better there."

It was going to have to wait.

The drive to the hospital wasn't too bad. I was allowed to ride in the same vehicle as Marinette, and no one was really bothering me, more concerned for the girl with the broken leg.

When we got to the hospital, however, we were split up. I was quickly bandaged up and then left in a waiting room while Marinette and Adrien were taken somewhere deeper into the depths of the medical facility.

Things didn't really change for a few minutes and I'd just started to relax when the worst thing happened.

 _Bang!_ The door flew open to reveal my mother, her face red with fury, a crazed look in her teal eyes as she approached me quickly.

I shied back, trying desperately to get smaller, but I knew I couldn't get away.

 _Smack!_

Pain cracked across my face as my mother withdrew her hand. "Nathanael!" she nearly shrieked. "How dare you let yourself get kidnapped! I raised my son better than that!"

"Mom-" I started, but she cut me off with a move that surprised me even more than the slap.

With a small cry, she threw her arms around me, grabbing me and pulling me close, squeezing me tight. "My boy," she breathed, something wet being pressed against my shirt. Was she crying? "How could you have done that?"

"I-I'm okay, mom," I said slowly, trying to wrap my head around this.

My mother never showed affection for me. She just didn't. And here she was, hugging me, in public… or kind of in private since it was just us.

"Good," she said and then withdrew a step. "Because we don't have enough money to pay for the medical bills, you know." She sighed. "I don't know how we're going to solve this… maybe you should get a part time job. It's good for a boy your age."

I blinked in surprise. I had just gotten kidnapped and she was talking about a part-time job?

"Um… okay?" I said, not knowing how else to react.

"Then if you're fine, let's go home," mom said. "I've had a tiring day worrying about you."

I nodded slowly. "Alright, mom. Let's go home."

I hopped down from the examination bed, wincing a little as I put weight on my injured leg. As we left the room, one of the doctors came up, putting a hand out. "We're not finished examining your son yet, ma'am. We don't know-"

"I'll be okay," I interrupted, giving him a smile. "Thanks for taking care of my leg…"

The doctor looked from my mother's stubborn face to mine and then said, "I'll release you Come with me."

We followed him to the front office and he handed us a couple papers that we filled out quickly and handed back.

"Enjoy the rest of your day," the doctor said. "And take it easy, okay?"

I nodded. "Thanks," I said again and then walked out with my mother.

On the way home, neither of us talked that much. It was a bit of a walk and by the time we arrived, my leg was paining me greatly.

"I'll be in my room," I muttered, going to the stairs.

"Wait, Nath," my mother said suddenly with a sigh.

I paused, looking over at her.

She wrung her hands. "I… I know that I'm not a very… good… mother, but I was worried about you. A lot. When I heard you were kidnapped… I… I want to do better. I'll give up drinking and-" She stopped, seeing my expression. I didn't even have to say anything. After a moment of silence, she added, "You don't believe me?"

"I wish I could," I said softly. "But I've heard all this before. You say you'll change, be sober a couple weeks and then…" I made a vague gesture. "It's nice that you want to, mom. And that's enough for me. But don't lie and say you'll do it when we both know you won't."

She became quiet. "I'm sorry, Nath," she said softly. "I want to be the mother you deserve."

"I understand," he said in response to that. "Don't feel bad."

She shook her head. "Nath? The last couple days you've seemed...off. I noticed. What's going on with you?"

I froze. Honestly, I was surprised. She never noticed anything. And every time I'd seen her she had been watching TV.

"Nothing," I said. "There's nothing going on."

"I can tell when you're lying," she said, her voice going firm. "I'm not stupid."

I paused. "It's my own business," I muttered. "I can't tell you, even if I wanted to."

"Sweetie…" my mother breathed. "Are you doing something dangerous?"

"What? No. Of course not," I said, shaking my head. "That isn't it. I promise, I'm perfectly safe."

"Oh god, it is something dangerous," she said. "What are you doing?"

"Mom!" I complained. "Just stop poking into my business. I said it wasn't dangerous."

"But you're lying," she said, her eyes watering. "I can tell when you're lying."

That's when it occurred to me that my mother was probably just as clever as I was. Of course, I had to have gotten it from somewhere and my dad… wasn't exactly clever… or around. But my alcoholic mother being the clever one…?

"Drop it," I growled and then walked up the stairs, ignoring her.

"Nath! Don't walk away from me! Nath please-"

I slammed the door, cutting out anything else she might have said and then dropped tiredly into my bed.

Vall flew out of my pocket, zooming up to sit on my hand. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Today was intense."

"I'll be fine," I muttered in response. "I'm just kind of…"

"Thinking about Marinette?" she guessed.

"She rejected me," I blurted out then. "I have no chance anymore and-"

"Nath," Vall said firmly. "Loving someone isn't always about being loved in return. You care about her right?"

"More than anything," I responded.

"Then don't just give up because she can't reciprocate. Accept that she may never be yours like you want her to and move on. You can still love her. It's okay."

I laughed bitterly. "Sounds like some pretty bad advice."

"The best advice isn't always what you want to hear," Vall said. "It'd be easy for me to say "suck it up" or "get over it" but that's not exactly right. You don't have to be strong, you just have to follow your heart."

"Even if it's me loving someone who's never going to love me back? Isn't that just creepy?"

"Maybe a little, but if you love someone, there's no use fighting it," Vall said in response. "You'll move on in your own time. Or you never will. Neither one is a bad end." She gave me a sympathetic look. "It was just your misfortune that you fell in love with the owner of the Ladybug miraculous. They're always the soulmates of the black cat. There's no fighting fate."

I closed my eyes, accepting what she said. "Okay," I said softly.

"More importantly," Vall said. "You need to rest, because we're going to be fighting Dollmaker. And he's not going to be easy to defeat."

"I can outsmart him, I think," I said.

"You mean out- _fox_ him?" Vall said with a grin.

I poked her in her belly, making her laugh. "You should have been Adrien's partner. He loves puns," I commented.

"He was never clever enough to be the fox," Vall said in response, giving me a soft smile. "It's okay though. Paris has you now." She edged closer. "So. Here's a question. Still want to give up the miraculous?"

"Of cou-" I stopped. "Maybe?" I offered instead. "I mean, I don't want the burden and responsibility of being Renard Roux but…"

"If it hadn't been for the fox miraculous, you wouldn't be friends with Marinette now," Vall finished my train of thought. She smiled. "This has given you an opportunity to be part of her life. Do you want to give that up?"

"No," I said in response. "I don't think so."

Vall absolutely beamed. "Good," she said with a grin. "Then Renard Roux is here to stay."


	20. Chapter 20: The Hunter

So, nothing earth-shattering happened after it was decided that I was going to be Renard Roux for an indeterminate amount of time. I went to bed and just slept until morning. I was still tired when I woke up and I kept circling in my head about how Marinette had rejected me. Maybe I'd known it was coming, or maybe it was because of what Vall had said, but I strangely wasn't that upset.

I rolled over and sat up, looking at the time on my phone.

4:14

Too early for school, not that I'd probably be going after yesterday…

"Vall," I said into the darkness.

"Mm," her tiny voice came and then she yawned sleepily, flying over. "What is it, Nath?"

"Hawk Moth…" I said. "Do you know who he is?"

"No idea," she said. "And I doubt Ladybug and Chat Noir or their kwamis know any more than I do. All we know is that he's captured Nooroo and is holding him prisoner, forcing him to do his bidding."

"Nooroo? Is that the butterfly kwami?" I asked.

"Yes," Vall said. "He got stolen many years ago. He was lost as far as we knew until Hawk Moth suddenly showed up. Most of us kwamis are kept by the guardians but…"

"How many are there?" I asked.

"Seven, mostly," Vall said. "There are seven of us who contract with humans, in any case. But kwamis are gods and goddesses, so there _are_ more out there. And not all of us are helpful."

"So then what's the difference?" I asked. "What can the different kwamis do?"

"Well…" Vall hesitated. "It's more like the gifts we have. Like Tikki is a goddess of creation and Plagg is a god of destruction. And they're both associated with luck. Tikki is good luck and Plagg is bad luck."

"Then what about you?" I asked.

She paused then flushed. "My abilities are varied based on the beliefs of the people who experience them. It's chaos really. But… most commonly, I'm associated with wisdom,deception, and… death."

"Death?" I echoed.

"Death," she verified. "Before I was bound to a miraculous, anything I touched died. People died. Animals died. It was a choice on my part, an escape from my inborn curse."

"I'm sorry," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Some of that power is still in my miraculous," she said softly. "And if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be used primarily to kill. It's been done in the past." Her ears laid back on her head. "Which is why I pick people that are clever with a good heart. Like you'd never use it to kill anyone. But denying the base nature of the kwami itself makes my miraculous unstable. That's the _reason_ you have to be so clever. It's why sometimes you have tools like paintbrushes while sometimes you don't."

"When I was fighting Dollmaker… right before he became Dollmaker… I had a moment where I turned violent. I bit him. His blood tasted… good."

Vall shivered. "Yeah. That's my influence. Sorry. Any time you're in danger, the fox in you is going to come out to fight. It doesn't always turn out well."

"So then I have to be careful?" I asked.

"Extremely," she emphasized.

"Chat Noir and Ladybug are meant for each other, right? Does that mean every miraculous has a counter?"

"Yes," she said. "Out of the seven of us, the peacock and the turtle are a pair, the ladybug and the black cat, and the fox and the butterfly."

"You and Nooroo are partners?"

She flushed. "Yes," she said. "Though obviously right now we're anything but. Still… the fox works best with the butterfly."

I made a face. "Is it always a romantic relationship?"

She burst out laughing. "No no! Of course not! Nooroo and I are friends. Our pairing is platonic. Always. To be honest, the fox often develops feelings for one of the other miraculouses, like the peacock or the ladybug, in your case."

I relaxed a little hearing that. "Guess I'm not alone with this whole pining after someone who's never going to love me back then."

"No, you're not. It happens quite a bit," Vall said. "I mean, the fox represents lies, and what's a better lie than unrequited love?"

"Goody," I said.

"Anyway," she said, clearing her throat. "Once we get the butterfly broach back and Hawk Moth is defeated, we'll get you an actual partner. Someone you can trust and rely on."

"But first we need to get it back," I pointed out. "How are we going to go about that?"

"It's your job to figure it out," Vall said softly. "That's why I was woken up. Ladybug and Chat Noir can't do it. But you can."

"Why didn't you tell me that in the beginning?" I asked.

"You weren't even sure you wanted to be a hero. Of course I wasn't going to tell you about it," she said with a smirk.

"I'm still not sure about the hero bit," I muttered.

"Marinette is a hero," Vall pointed out. "If you want to be with her, then that's what you're going to have to be too."

I gave a short nod. It made sense, of course.

But I couldn't get it out of my head that Vall was associated with death. This new information cast a whole new light on my abilities as a hero too.

They didn't really make sense. That was the gist of it.

And the reason why they didn't make sense was because they were powers that Vall normally wouldn't be using.

It was possible that I would be more powerful if I was using Vall's dark side instead.

I suppressed a shiver.

Vall's dark side was death. I could kill people if I used her like she was meant to be.

"So," I said. "Taking into account what your nature is like… what exactly _are_ the abilities you'd naturally come with?"

Vall sighed. "Illusion, killing touch, things like that."

"Could we potentially channel the illusion without the killing touch?"

"Some of my previous chosen have tried," Vall said in a strained tone of voice. "They all… went bad."

"Went bad?"

"Look, I'm one of the dark kwamis. Like seriously. Plagg and I are the most destructive kwamis in the circle. It's actually rather unbalanced to have both of us out at the same time without a counter. That means that my chosen are often tempted towards evil."

"Am I going to be tempted towards evil?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said in response. "To be honest, the fact that you used to be an akuma is… concerning. It's why Master Fu didn't want you to be my Chosen, not that he had the final say."

I paused at that. "I see…"

"Don't take it the wrong way, Nathanael. You're never going to become an akuma again. Not as long as you and I are bonded. It's just not possible. My magic balances out with Nooroo's. But…" she hesitated, her ears twitching nervously.

"But what?"

"I'm not sure. I think you're going to be tempted again at some point. Worse than when you became and akuma. And you have a weakness in you. If Hawk Moth has the opportunity, I fear for you."

"I'm not going to fall for the same trick twice," I said in a low growl. "He lied to me, tried to assert his will over mine. I'm never going to trust him again."

"Good," Vall said, visibly relaxing. "Then we've just got to catch Dollmaker and figure out a way to bring Hawk Moth down."

"There's still a few hours before school," I said. "Do you want to go hunting right now?"

"Um… sure, I guess," she said in response, giving me a smile. "I'll be ready when you are, Nath."

I nodded and then got out of bed, throwing on my normal clothes before turning towards Vall, holding my wrist out. "Fox Trick." I said.

That warm light rushed over me and Vall disappeared, sucked back into the miraculous.

I reached up with one hand and idly pinched one of my fox ears, then I went to the window, sliding it open. I pulled out my main paintbrush and swished it, instantly being teleported to the building across the street.

It was time that I become the hunter.


	21. Chapter 21: Aftermath

I limped into homeroom, clutching my bag close to my side, trying to quell the anxiety bubbling in my chest.

Of course I hadn't been able to find any sign of Dollmaker. Not that it was that surprising after yesterday.

He'd had plenty of time to find himself a place to hide.

And probably make dolls or whatever other obscure thing he might do.

I figured, though, that he'd make an appearance in or around the school at some point today, since it had the highest concentration of former akumas.

Which was why, even though I was in pain, and sore, I went to school.

I wasn't really surprised to see Adrien and Marinette's seats empty, though I was a little disappointed. It just meant that they were still too hurt to help but…

I ducked my head and walked up towards my seat.

"Nathanael!" Juleka's voice called suddenly and she hugged me from behind. "You're okay!"

"Ow!" I said suddenly, clutching my chest. "Juleka-"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you hurt somewhere?"

I smirked and turned around, playfully shoving her shoulder. "Just kidding. I'm fine. I promise. My leg's a little hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Marinette and Adrien."

"I can't believe that guy kidnapped you! From school too!" she said, her eyes narrowing. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I said, putting my bag down on the table.

"What happened?" Ivan asked, coming up suddenly.

I nearly jumped out of my skin with how abrupt his appearance was.

"Guy was crazy," I said in response. "Kept on about how every one of us that's been an akuma are still akumas."

Ivan stared at me, his grey eyes unblinking. "So then how did he become an akuma?"

"Long story," I said.

"Tell me after class then," Ivan said and slid into his seat.

"Y-Yeah. Okay."

Ms. Bustier came into the room then. She looked up at me and gave me a wide smile.

"Everyone settle down," she said, turning her attention towards the rest of the class.

I sat down in my seat, instant relief sweeping through me as the shooting pain in my leg stopped.

"Now," she said, walking to her desk and leaning back against it as everyone took their seats. "I'm sure all of you heard about the kidnappings that took place yesterday. I'm glad to say that no one is going to die, although Adrien is still in the hospital and Marinette is currently unable to attend class. They received the worst injuries. I imagine though it would have been even worse if the Police didn't arrive when they did." She cleared her throat. "That aside, I would ask everyone not to bother their classmates about this unfortunate event. You'll get your stories from the media soon enough." She glanced up at me again and then focused her gaze on the rest of the class. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ms. Bustier," the class said in unison.

I took out my sketchbook from my bag and put it on the desk in front of me, getting ready to draw like usual as Ms. Bustier began the lecture, but, for some reason, I didn't really feel like it.

I sat there, my pencil on the paper, and all I could think about was what happened yesterday.

Marinette knew Adrien was Chat Noir.

She'd rejected me.

I closed my eyes.

I couldn't dwell on that. She'd rejected me, but I wasn't giving up on her. Not yet.

It was too soon for that. Maybe if she got to know me better…

Who was I kidding? She was already in love with Adrien.

"Hey, Nath," Ivan's voice suddenly cut into my reprieve. "Are you okay?"

"Mm," I answered.

"Want to tell me about it?" he asked.

"Marinette rejected me," I mumbled.

He paused. "Wasn't what I was looking for, but now I get why you're being so mopey. I'm sorry, Nathanael. I don't know what to say about that."

"Nothing," I muttered and looked down at his face.

His grey eyes were giving me an almost puppy-like stare. "It'll be okay," he said.

"I know," I responded.

He turned forward then, leaving me to my thoughts again. I tried doodling and I tried listening to the lecture. Neither of which worked out well. Around noon, my stomach began to growl and Ms. Bustier wrapped up the lecture.

"After lunch, you'll be with Ms. Mendeleive in her science class. So I want everyone to eat up and pay close attention," Ms. Bustier said.

"Yes, Ms. Bustier," the class said.

I gathered up my sketchbook and put it away then got up as the bell rang.

"Nathanael," Ms. Bustier said suddenly. "A word."

"I'll wait for you outside," Ivan said.

I gave him a nod and then went towards the teacher.

The rest of the class filed out and she sighed, stepping forward to put her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I didn't expect you back at school after what happened yesterday."

"It's… okay," I said in response to that. "I'm fine."

She pursed her lips. "Okay," she said. "But be careful, alright Nath? I don't know exactly what happened, but whatever it was, it sounds dangerous. And that man is still on the loose."

"He's an akuma now," I pointed out. "It'll be fine. Ladybug and Chat Noir will take care of him."

I gave her a soft smile and then went to the door. I walked outside to find Ivan waiting like he had said he would.

"Let's go somewhere private to talk," he said.

"I want to check on Marinette," I said. "We could go by her bakery and talk on the way."

Ivan hesitated, then gave a nod. "Alright."

We started walking, leaving the school grounds.

"First off, tell me," he said. "Were you there? As the fox guy not you…"

"Yeah," I said. "I forced him to become an akuma. He was going to kill us if I didn't do anything."

"Marinette and Adrien. They didn't go missing like you and Mirielle. He didn't actually kidnap them… they're…"

"Don't," I said sharply. "Don't go there."

"They are," he said, my answer affirming it in his head. He gave a laugh. "That's why you were drawing Marinette as Ladybug. Cause she _is_ -"

"Ivan," I said, my voice turning a little bit more towards a whimper. "This isn't something just anyone could know. If she found out-"

"Don't worry. The secret is safe with me," he said in an assuring tone. "But that means that Adrien-" he frowned. "You really have no chance, man."

"Yeah, I know," I said dryly. I examined him. "You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for, you know?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe. I don't know. I don't think I'm that smart."

"Most people can't put that together like you just did."

"No idea why," he said. "But then again, I didn't even suspect them until I knew about you."

"Sure," I said in response.

"So then. How did you end up as the fox guy?" Ivan asked.

"Long story," I said. "A couple days ago, I went home and found this fox goddess waiting for me…" I explained everything that happened, leaving nothing out. There wasn't a point in hiding it. I… sort of trusted Ivan, as weird as that sounded. I would never have told him on my own but…

As I finished, he gave a nod. "So can I meet Vall?" he asked.

Vall lifted her head out of my pocket at that. "I'm here," she said.

He jumped in surprise, looking down at her. "My god. She does look like a fox."

"That's right," Vall said, shifting in my pocket to get a clearer view of Ivan. "Well, now you know everything. Think you can help Nath?"

"I don't know what you expect me to do," Ivan said. "It's not like I have the power to fight Hawk Moth. I don't have a kwami or a miraculous or anything."

"You're still my friend," I said at that. "And… I need you."

"For what?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I'm not sure yet. But I know I can't do this by myself."

"You got Marinette and Adrien."

" _They_ don't know I'm Ren," I reminded him.

"Why don't you just tell them?" he asked.

I thought about it. "Something feels… off. Like maybe they aren't supposed to know yet? I don't have the same bond with them that they do with each other. And I'm not meaning the romantic part. I mean… they work so well together. Impossibly well."

"You'll figure it out," Ivan said.

"Yeah, but I think part of that is you," I said. "There must be a reason why you found out…"

"Like God or something?" Ivan asked.

"I don't know," I said, letting some of my frustration slip out. "I have no idea."

"Well… I'll help if I can, but I don't know exactly what you want my help with."

"Maybe… help me keep my identity a secret?" I suggested. "And… it feels actually kinda good to be able to talk to someone about all this."

He smiled at that. "I can do both."

We turned onto the street with Marinette's bakery, but right before we were about to enter, I heard a voice behind me.

"Found you, foxy!"

I was grabbed from behind and yanked back, away from the door.

I felt a sinking sensation in my gut as I turned to find the Dollmaker.

Or should I say, he found me.


	22. Chapter 22: Hawk Moth

"Found you, foxy!" the Dollmaker said, grabbing the back of my collar from behind and yanking me back, away from the door.

I felt a sinking sensation in my gut, my head spinning as I turned to face my attacker.

"Nathanael!" Ivan said, his voice choking.

"Get out of here!" I called to him, my eyes not leaving Dollmaker's face.

"But-"

"Go!" I said.

My mind raced, trying to think about ways away from this guy. I heard footsteps behind me, but not running away, running into the shop.

"So old Stoneheart and you are friends?" the Dollmaker asked with a sickening smile, his toxic eyes on me. "I shouldn't be surprised. Monsters tend to flock together."

"You're the monster," I returned and began moving, very slowly to the side.

The street was near empty, and those humans around were smart enough to run away when they spotted the akuma. But I needed to transform and I was exposed. Unless all of Paris wanted to know my secret identity, I was stuck. And the Dollmaker obviously knew this by the smirk on his face.

"Maybe," Dollmaker said. "But I know who you are, Evillustrator. Renard Roux. Whichever you go by nowadays."

"Shut up!" I said.

"You can't escape being an akuma. Once you're one of us, you always are!" he said, approaching me swiftly.

I backed up, trying to get out of sight as quickly as I could.

"Nath!" I heard Marinette's voice suddenly.

I looked up to see Ladybug on Marinette's balcony, her leg held in a brace.

"Get inside!" she ordered and then took her yoyo out from her side.

She couldn't fight like that!

But I couldn't fight like I was either.

I did as she ordered, praying that she could hold on just long enough for me to get back out.

"Not so fast!" Dollmaker snapped, his extra arms extending, wrapping around me and pulling me against him.

One thing the akuma didn't do was change how horrible he smelled.

"Let go of me!" I struggled against his grasp.

"I dare you to come find me, Ladybug!" the Dollmaker said, backing up quickly. "You and Chat Noir. You're going to reveal who you are to all of Paris within an hour, or this kid is going to get what he deserves."

I desperately tried to summon up the fox within me, clawing at his arms, biting him, but the Dollmaker seemed unaffected, turning me away from Ladybug and then jumping into the air.

My stomach dropped with the speed he was going, like a spider, nimbly jumping between buildings.

I wasn't sure where we were going, but it didn't feel right. It felt like something was very wrong.

The Dollmaker didn't slow down, the terrain passing us by in a blur. I couldn't even keep track of where we were going or how far we'd gone already. I couldn't even keep track based on the sun, we were moving too much, too quickly.

Who would have thought that the akuma version of the man who kidnapped me could be so fast.

Or that he would have kidnapped me again.

"Vall-" I tried to choke out, but at that moment, the Dollamker swung down through the window of a strange building I had never really taken account of before.

He dropped me on the ground roughly, the momentum sending me rolling a few feet.

"Ugh," I groaned, my head spinning.

"This is the boy?" a new voice said suddenly, one that I remembered clearly, a chill running up through my spine.

"Yes, Hawk Moth," the Dollmaker said, bowing towards the shadows.

I turned quickly, getting up on my knees and then standing, stepping back.

I'd never seen Hawk Moth, even when I was his puppet, so I didn't know what I expected the holder of the butterfly miraculous to look like, but the man that stepped out of the shadows was not it.

Sporting a nearly full-faced silver mask, he wore a purple suit, a distinct butterfly broach sitting unprotected near his collar.

No. Not unprotected. That wasn't the right word.

Unguarded more accurately.

Like he was confident enough in his own fighting ability that he could easily outmaneuver anyone that went after him, his blue-grey eyes cold and unfeeling.

He had a cane in his hand, the only indication of a weapon, but his whole body screamed "dangerous", even if his look… really didn't.

Of course, I'd tried imagining Hawk Moth before. Each time I did, I would either imagine him as some sort of shadowy black figure or someone much more… butterfly themed.

But this Hawk Moth was much more impressive than either.

"Evillustrator, if I recall correctly," Hawk Moth said. "You were one of my better creations."

"I remember you," I said, finding that I couldn't say anything else, but I needed to speak. I needed to hold my composure.

"Interesting," Hawk Moth said, his eyes focused on me. "Maybe you were meant to be my partner from the start then."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I growled, though that was a lie. If what Vall had said was true-

"The butterfly and the fox are meant to work together, don't you know?" Hawk Moth said with a smirk. "Of course you do. You're the fox's chosen. I think Renard Roux is the name you're going with, am I right?"

I felt exposed.

He knew.

He knew who I was.

"What do you want?" I hissed.

"I just want to help you," he said, stepping forward. "You're the only one that ever fought me, when you were under my control. You're the only one that remembered afterwards. That makes you special, Nathanael."

I tensed up as soon as he moved.

"Vall-" I started again, but Hawk Moth cut me off.

"Of course you don't want blind trust, right?" he said. "You're currently working with Ladybug and Chat Noir. And I certainly didn't make a good first impression. Not to worry, though. I'll fix that. Anything you want, I will give you."

"Fuck off!" I said viciously, that animalistic force rising up within me in a way that it wouldn't earlier.

"Mm. I'll be patient, Renard Roux," Hawk Moth said. "This offer stands. I will give you anything you want. Anything at all. You were an akuma once. You accepted my help. You'll accept it again."

I shivered. "You're lying!" I snarled.

"When they betray you, I'll be here," Hawk Moth said with a smile. "I'll be seeing plenty of you, Nathanael." He stepped back. "Take him away," he told Dollmaker.

I was grabbed from behind and lifted up. "Get off me!"

I kicked Dollmaker in the stomach, forcing him to let go, then ran forward suddenly.

"Fox Trick!" I said.

Vall zoomed into my miraculous and I took my paintbrush out from its groove and it expanded to full size quickly. I brought it down sharply at Hawk Moth and he countered with his cane, a smirk appearing on his face.

"So that's how you want to play it, Renard?" he asked, his voice containing an eager tone. "Then let's fight and see what you have."

I twisted, bringing the brush down again.

He countered like it was nothing!

Each blow I aimed precisely at him he just countered with his cane, unmoving from his spot. I was wearing myself out, swinging wildly for him.

"You have a long way to go to beating me, boy," Hawk Moth said, a bored tone entering his voice. "But you have potential."

He stepped forward then, bringing his cane down with a sharp _crack_ against my wrists.

I shouted in pain, letting the brush drop and then his cane got me in the stomach.

I fell over, out of breath, clutching my middle with everything I had.

"Hm," he said, looking down at me. "Your eyes… when you're fighting, they look almost amber. Is that the fox in you, perhaps? You can't hold back. Embrace it, Renard. All of it." He reached down and grabbed my hair, pulling me up.

I hissed in pain, grabbing his wrist.

"I know what the Fox really is," he said, his voice menacing. "My kwami told me about yours. How she represents death itself, but prefers to use simple "misdirection" instead." He scoffed. "It's denying her true nature that makes you weak."

"I'll...never join you!" I summoned all my strength to spit out.

"We're inevitable, Renard," Hawk Moth said with a smirk. "Like day and night. We complete each other. I will never succeed in taking Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses without you. I know that. But you will never be accepted by them without me. Never."

I felt a deep chill run through me at his words. "I'm not going to help you!" I said.

"We'll see about that," he said, then dropped me. "You know where I am, child. You can turn me over to Ladybug and Chat Noir or you can join me. It's up to you. The ball's in your court."

My vision swam in front of me and the next thing I knew, Hawk Moth was gone, Dollmaker leaning over me with a smirk on his face.

"You're an akuma too," he said, his voice certain. "You won't tell Ladybug about this."

"You're wrong," I choked out.

But there was a part of me that argued against my common sense, begging me to think about Hawk Moth's words.

I'd never belong with Ladybug. She'd already basically said that.

So what really was I doing?


	23. Chapter 23: Dollmaker Part 2

After the meeting with Hawk Moth, I was in no shape to fight.

I could feel the bruises forming under my suit, even as Dollmaker dragged me to my feet. I glanced around the room, noting all the white butterflies.

So that was where all the akumas came from.

Maybe I should bring back some pesticide to this place. Get rid of the whole damn problem on my own.

I closed my eyes and let the akuma drag me away.

I needed to get away from him, assure Marinette that I was safe, but I didn't have the energy to do anything but follow.

"Well, Evillustrator," the akuma said in a conversational tone, almost soft. "You should probably detransform before we get around a lot of people. You don't want your secret identity being exposed."

"What do you care?" I asked.

"I've _always_ cared," the akuma said with a sick grin. "Don't you know? You're the one I've cared about the most. The Evillustrator. You could destroy cities with the power you had. Yet you chose to forsake it all for some girl. Most intriguing."

"I'm one of many of Hawk Moth's victims. I'm nothing special," I said.

"But you _are_. Hawk Moth said it himself, didn't he? You tried to defy him."

"Shouldn't that make you more leery around me?" I challenged him. "I'm going to make sure you're cured. Somewhere you're powerless to even attack us."

Dollmaker smirked. "You're Hawk Moth's partner. Or you will be. Whatever you decide to do, it'll benefit him in the end."

"Yeah, right. You're delusional. Though I shouldn't be surprised, you being an akuma and all."

"Are you going to detransform or not?" he said. "I'm not going to wait here all day. If you're stubborn about it, I'll just take you anyway."

I knew I was no match for the akuma in my state, as much as I wished I could beat him. "Fur off," I said.

Light traveled up my body and I gave a shiver as my transformation ended. Vall quickly zoomed into my pocket as Dollmaker made a grab for her and I got into a guarded position.

"Leave her alone," I growled.

"Alright fine," he said, holding his many hands up. "I won't go after her again. Besides, you're powerless to stop me right now." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close, then wrapped his arms around my middle and jumped out of the building.

Paris passed by in a blur as he took me away from Hawk Moth's lair, over to the Notre Dame. He scaled up the side of it quickly, setting me down when we reached the top.

"What now?" I asked.

"We wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir," he said at that.

He looked over at me, then handed me my book bag.

I hesitantly took it from him, wondering if this was some kind of trick. But he just looked away, taking out some cloth and then he began crafting more of those little dolls like the Ladybug one from before.

I didn't exactly know how to react to this situation, so I took my sketchbook out of my bag, scooted a couple feet away, and then began drawing to pass the time.

I knew neither of the heroes were going to come for me. They couldn't. But still…

I had to figure out a plan and not let Dollmaker know.

I had to take him down quickly and take the akuma to Marinette. Unfortunately, at the time I'd been so intent on getting my leg out of the bear trap, I didn't really have time to see what object the akuma was in.

I didn't think he was holding scissors at the time, or a needle and thread, and of course the dolls were something he was making now instead of before.

I bit my lip, thinking rapidly.

I put my pencil against the side of my head, rubbing my temple with it as I thought, glancing over at Dollmaker.

I didn't think he'd been holding anything so maybe it was in his shirt? That had been the first thing to transform, after all…

If that was true then this was going to be difficult. There'd never been an akuma where the clothes were where it was hiding before.

No, wait… I glanced towards the scissors again.

He hadn't had scissors in his hands, but he'd had a knife. My pencil had undergone a drastic transformation when I'm become the Evillustrator. It was probably the same thing for him and that knife…

Right. The akuma was probably in the scissors then. It was a good bet, at least.

Now what, though?

I had a pretty good idea of where the akuma was, but I was still sore from my fight with Hawk Moth and Marinette expected me to be a captive.

"Dollmaker!" I heard her voice suddenly.

I jerked my head up to see Ladybug, her leg still in a cast, standing on the edge of the roof with Chat Noir, whose breathing was rather shallow, but was here.

I felt dread in my stomach and I quickly put my sketchbook away.

"Ah, so you came," Dollmaker said with a smile. "How quaint. Nath and I were just talking about you."

Both the heroes glanced towards me and I shook my head, letting them know I hadn't revealed their secrets.

"That's nice," Chat Noir said. He sounded too tired to even pun.

"How you holding up?" Dollmaker said. "Dealing with the injuries from my attack still? If I could hurt you like that again, I would. But Hawk Moth has made it clear what I really need to do with you." He held out his hand. "One chance. Give up your miraculouses or this kid takes a swan dive off the Notre Dame."

"Offer noted, but duly rejected," Chat Noir stated seriously.

"Kick his butt," I said.

"With pleasure," Ladybug said, her smile widening.

She threw her yoyo at him and the Dollmaker darted to the side, taken by surprise.

"Why you-"

"My turn!" Chat said, jumping forward, his staff coming down on Dollmaker's head.

I winced. I knew how much that hurt first hand.

Dollmaker stumbled back at that, a grin plastered to his face. "Alright. I suppose then it's time for you to meet my dolls," he said, and threw three dolls into the air.

One landed near me, taking on my appearance, while the other two landed next to the heroes as exact replicas. My breath caught in my throat and Ladybug and Chat Noir immediately got on guard. Dollmaker grabbed me and my clone from behind and dragged us away. "Good luck!" Dollmaker called after us as the dolls began fighting their counterparts.

I really didn't get the purpose of the second doll that looked like me. He already had me as a hostage, but I wasn't going to question it. Not right now. Not while I was being dragged away by him and my… "friends" were fighting versions of themselves on the roof of Notre Dame.

An irrational surge of anger poured through me.

If the two of them had listened to me, then none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be currently back in the clutches of the man I outsmarted. Hawk Moth wouldn't have found out about my secret. This was all their fault.

This was…

Marinette's fault?

That stopped my anger cold, replaced with a lace of pain.

I didn't know why I bothered. Marinette would never love me. What was I even fighting for? Maybe I should just let the akuma have me.

I was dropped abruptly.

"Ow!" I said and looked up at Dollmaker.

"Transform here," he said, holding the clone of me. "Go help your friends, if you want."

"What are you-?"

"I know who you are," Dollmaker said. "You can't run or hide from me. So figure out where you stand." He turned and then jumped away, leaping onto the next roof and the one after that.

I hesitated, staring after him. What was going on?

"Nath," Vall said, flying out of my pocket. "You can think about it later. Right now you need to help Ladybug."

I gave a nod. "Right. Fox Trick."

Vall zoomed into my miraculous and I took off in the direction we'd come from. It didn't take very long with my paintbrushes to get back to the Notre Dame. But when I did, everything was nothing short of chaos.

When I'd left, there'd been two Ladybugs and two Chat Noirs. However, there were something closer to eight of each, fighting against each other and I couldn't tell which ones were real or not.

"What the heck?" I said.

"Ren!" I heard Ladybug yell admist all the Ladybug's.

"Ren! Ren! Ren!" the others echoed quickly, drowning out the real one.

"Who's the real one?" I wondered out loud.

"No clue!" I heard Chat say somewhere in the mess. "Can't figure it out."

"Chat-" I started and all the Chat Noirs looked at me.

Great.

"The dolls are fragile," I said to both of them. "Rip apart your own look alikes. That's the only way we're getting out of this."

"How do you think we landed in this mess?" Ladybug's voice came out.

Ok. So they duplicated when they were destroyed.

"Chat, use cataclysm on yours," I said. "Ladybug, you need to use lucky charm."

"Dollmaker has my friend!" she protested. "I can't."

"You're not going to get to your friend if you don't do something!" I snapped at that, too irritated to do anything else. I couldn't attack one side or the other for fear of attacking the real Ladybug and Chat.

"On it," Chat said. "Cataclysm!"

One of the Chats began touching the others, who disintegrated at his touch until there were none left.

"I'm surprised that worked," Chat said. "Usually it only works on one."

"Well, they were all part of the same doll," I pointed out, then looked at the Ladybugs. "Your turn."

"Ren, I can't," I heard her voice, sounding strained.

"Ladybug-"

"He'll be hurt or worse!" she said. "I… I…"

"Ladybug," Chat said suddenly. "Trust me. We'll get Nath back. Together. Just take a breath and use your charm. I promise he'll be safe."

I heard her take a breath. "Lucky Charm!" she shouted, throwing her yoyo up in the air.

In that moment, I knew which Ladybug she was.

A can of hairspray came down into her hand and I lept to her side, pushing back the other Ladybugs to give her room.

"Got a match or a lighter?" she asked.

"Here," I pulled my pen out and made a little square in the air.

A lighter fell out and she grabbed it.

"Thanks," she said with a smile and I jumped back.

I looked at my miraculous, which let out a small beep to let me know I had five minutes left.

Ladybug began spraying the surrounding dolls with her mini-flamethrower, then came to join us, a disappointed look on her face. "This is going to be hard, right?"

"I'll go after Dollmaker myself," I said, then looked at the two of them. "You're still injured."

Ladybug shook her head. "No way. We're a team, the three of us. We take him down together, got it?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Alright, fine. We need time to recharge though."

Ladybug and Chat exchanged a glance.

"Um, Ren," Ladybug said. "I think you should know… Chat and I found out who each other are and… maybe we should include you too. I mean, it's unfair that we are-"

I held up a hand to stop her. "I already know who you two are," I said.

"Wait, how do you-" Chat started, but Ladybug cut him off.

"Who are you, Ren?" she asked, looking uncomfortable. "How do you know who we are?"

"I…" I choked up on the words.

 _Just tell her_ , I scolded myself.

My miraculous beeped again.

"I'll tell you later," I said. "I need to go for now. Recharge and stuff." I turned to go and Chat grabbed my arm.

"Ren," he said. "Thanks for… coming for us. If you don't want to say, we'll wait until you're ready. You've earned our trust."

I was silent a moment. "Thanks," I said. "That means a lot to me."

He took his hand off and I took out my brush, swinging it to teleport away quickly.

Doubt was creeping on the edges of my mind. Everything just… didn't make sense anymore.

I wasn't sure I still wanted to stand beside Marinette and Adrien. I would never measure up to their partnership.

At the same time, though, I knew that I couldn't help Hawk Moth. He was evil and hurting people.

So what was I supposed to do?

I got halfway across the city before my transformation wore out in a back alley. Vall fell down into my hands, breathing hard.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah," she said, taking a breath. "Just fine." She sat up. "I'll be okay after a bit. And you?"

I shook my head. "I don't know," I said honestly.

She put her paw on my thumb. "It'll be okay, Nath. I'm going to stand by you no matter what you decide. You're my chosen."

"I don't… I'm confused," I said. "Hawk Moth is evil and Marinette…"

"You love Marinette," she said.

"It hurts," I responded. "I don't want to feel this pain."

"I know," she said. "Believe me, I know."

"Hawk Moth says he's my partner," I said.

"He's not," she said, shaking her head. "Trust me, Nath. He isn't your partner."

"He knows my secret identity."

"Yeah, he does. I don't know how to fix that," she said.

I leaned back against the wall, bowing my head. "I don't know how to fix it either."

"As long as he thinks he can make use of you, he'll leave you alone," she said.

"And if he doesn't, he'll go after my mother, my school, Marinette… He'll figure out who she is."

"That's not likely to happen," Vall said.

"But it could happen. It's likely that it'll happen. I don't know how to stop him, Vall. I don't…" I was finding it hard to breathe.

"Nathan," she said sharply, flying out of my hands and touching my face. "You'll figure it out. If you can't trust yourself, trust your fox. It knows what it needs to do."

Her words calmed me somewhat. It was strange, but I felt like I could believe her.

"This was what I warned you about," Vall said. "The temptation. Hawk Moth is trying to get you to side with him." She bit her lip. "Honestly, kid, I don't think I'll care if you decide to fight with him. I… I really like you, Nath. For who you are. Don't forget that, okay?"

I gave a short nod, taking a breath. "I'll have to stand up to him somehow, won't I?"

"I can't tell you what to do. I _won't_ tell you what to do. All I can do is say trust your instincts. Okay?"

"Thanks, Vall."

She visibly relaxed and floated down. "So do you have anything to eat?"

"How do you feel about chips?" I asked, reaching into my bag.

"They'll do," the kwami answered and waited for me to fish them out.

The bag was nearly flat, but Vall didn't seem to care. As soon as I opened it, she dived in, pleasant chomping coming from the bag.

I lowered the bag, staring at the wall opposite to me.

My choice, huh?

Good or evil.

A couple days ago, I would have known the answer, but after talking to Hawk Moth, there was something… dark… inside me, beckoning me.

I hadn't told Marinette and Adrien about Hawk Moth's lair. I hadn't told them that I was okay.

I hadn't trusted them with my own secret identity.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back.

I hadn't trusted them.

Maybe I couldn't.

Maybe I couldn't even trust myself.


	24. Chapter 24: Trust

Half an hour later, I was running across rooftops, generally ignoring my problems as I tried to locate Dollmaker.

Maybe I wouldn't even have to make a choice if I just…

Who was I kidding? I was putting off the inevitable. I was going to end up choosing Marinette, just like I'd always done. I was just… confused. Irritated. But it wasn't really her fault, right?

It wasn't her fault she was in love with Adrien.

I paused on the edge of the rooftop, gazing out at the setting sun. The city looked like fire from my angle, the buildings burning orange and red and gold.

I crouched down.

Like fire.

An image rose up in front of my eyes then.

" _Nathanael! Save me!" I heard Marinette cry out, her voice choked with tears._

 _Hawk Moth's hands circled her neck, yanking her close to him._

" _Marinette!" I said, clawing my way towards her, but there was something stopping me, something holding me back. I looked behind me and I saw Chat Noir, an evil smirk on his lips, his green eyes glowing in the halflight._

" _You don't deserve her," he said. "You don't deserve her, Evillustrator. You're going to join him. It's your destiny. You're going to kill her. You're going to kill Marinette-"_

I let out a yell of frustration, all the rage I'd been feeling since yesterday exploding from my lungs. It didn't make me feel better though. I pounded my fist against the tiles of the roof, three times in succession, before standing back up. My body felt tight, coiled, like I was just waiting for something to go off.

I loved Marinette so much, but I was already doomed from the start.

But then, Hawk Moth knew who I was. If I didn't do something fast, maybe he would go after my mom… after Marinette. What choice did I have really? Defy him? Risk my family?

Or maybe I should side with him.

Maybe it wasn't even about the people I loved. Maybe it really was my destiny to be evil.

No. That wasn't true.

I gave a laugh.

I was just an angsty teenager, that was all. It had nothing to do with good and evil. It was just me being dramatic.

I shook my head.

Right. I needed to focus on the mission at hand. Stop Dollmaker. I could worry about Hawk Moth after that.

I heard the sound of a click behind me and turned to see Alya on the fire escape to my right, taking pictures of me.

I sighed. Just another problem to deal with.

I turned towards her and began walking in her direction.

Far from being put off, she acted excited, running up the last few steps to join me on the roof.

"Mr. Fox," she greeted.

"Renard Roux," I corrected.

"Red Fox. That's a little on the nose," she commented, looking me up and down.

"And Chat Noir isn't?" I countered.

"Touche," she said with a grin. "Do you have time for an interview?"

"Not particularly, no," I said in frustration. "I have an akuma to catch."

"You have an akuma to catch? What about Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"They're injured," I said. "Please, Alya, go home. You don't want to be caught in the crossfire this time."

Alya scoffed at that. "It's cute that you think you can send me home like that, Renard."

I ran a hand through my hair, more than a little annoyed.

"This akuma isn't playing around," I said. "He's dangerous."

"All akumas are dangerous," she countered.

"This akuma comes from a man who kidnapped children, not just your average citizen," I said in response, maybe a little too sharply. "You're going to get seriously _hurt_ if you come between him and me. He's not going to care about you."

"I know," she said, her tone turning quiet. "But he… kidnapped a classmate of mine. He has him right now. I can't do much, but I want to help how I can."

I paused at that. So that was what the doll was going to be used for. His threat to Ladybug and Chat Noir still stood, even if he released me.

"You remember Volpina?" I said.

"Yeah, I remember her," Alya said. "Of course I do."

"She had the power to create illusions. She claimed to have kidnapped Adrien Agreste, but it turned out that it wasn't real."

"Your point?" Alya asked.

"I don't think that's really your classmate."

"Then where is he?" Alya countered sharply.

"Talk to Ivan," I responded. "Last I saw, they were together."

"Ivan told me that Dollmaker kidnapped Nathanael," Alya said, looking matter-of-fact.

"Well maybe he's returned him by now," I said lamely.

"Doubtful," Alya said in response, her eyes narrowing. "Unless you have a point you're trying to make."

I didn't respond a moment. "Just… don't take him at face value, okay?"

Alya watched me curiously a moment before saying, "Good luck, Renard. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

I nodded and then ran to the edge of the building.

"One last thing, Renard!" Alya said.

I turned to look at her.

"What's with the paintbrushes?"

I smirked. "I thought that was pretty obvious," I said, pulling one out. "I'm an artist!"

I used the brush then, going to the next building, and then the one after that, leaving Alya behind.

I had to trust Ladybug, I supposed, or nothing would ever get resolved.

I needed to protect her. It didn't matter how angry I was at the moment. She was the girl I loved. Marinette.

It wasn't her fault she fell in love with Adrien and not me.

I had known from the very beginning how she felt about him, even before I had been Evillustrator. I wasn't stupid.

I had let myself fall in love with her anyway.

And this was the consequence.

I closed my eyes for a moment.

I wasn't going to give up on her. I decided that right then and there.

She might have loved Adrien, but one day she'd love me too.

And I'd do anything, everything in my power to make that happen.

"Ren!" I heard Ladybug's shout behind me.

I turned slightly, slowing down, and she caught up to me, a wicked smile on her face. "You ready to take on an akuma?" she asked.

"More than," I said in response. "This guy has been giving me a headache. It needs to stop."

She nodded, swinging forward again.

"Ladybug," I said, the impulse grabbing me.

She looked back at me curiously. "What is it?"

"I trust you," I said, meaning every word.

She blinked, then smiled slowly. "Good," she said, her blue eyes brightening. "I trust you too, Ren."

Her words decided it for me.

I was going to trust her, no matter what. I was on her side, secret identity and Hawk Moth be damned.

There was nothing, _nothing_ that could tear me away from her.

Nothing could make me betray that trust she placed in me.


	25. Chapter 25: Butterfly Effect

So, having decided that I irrevocably trusted Ladybug and I'd stay by her side meant that there were… other issues that needed to be addressed.

Like what to do about Hawk Moth.

I was far from ready to fight him. I knew that.

And both Ladybug and Chat Noir were injured, so they couldn't make up for my inexperience.

I had to keep his hideout a secret for now or they'd want to rush in and that would probably end up with Hawk Moth getting exactly what he wanted.

So then.

The question was, what to do about Hawk Moth.

"There," Ladybug pointed at the eiffel tower.

Up top, Dollmaker was holding the replica of me in his arms. It was flailing and struggling, calling out a plethora of curse words that made me blush. It definitely wasn't acting like me. No way would Marinette be fooled-

"Hold on, Nathanael!" Ladybug shouted loudly, then swung away from me at break-neck speeds.

It did occur to me suddenly that this was the same Marinette who had been completely oblivious that her partner was in fact her crush for the past six months.

I facepalmed.

She seemed just as oblivious as Chloe sometimes.

"Ladybug, wait!" I said, taking off after her. I swung the paintbrush, trying to catch up, but Ladybug almost seemed too quick, reaching the top of the eiffel tower while I was still on foot, trying to get through the crowd of civilians fleeing from it.

An arm caught me suddenly from the side and I turned to see Ivan, relief on his face.

"You're okay," he said. He looked at the eiffel tower. "But he still has you up there. How?"

"That's a doll," I said, trying to be calm. "Ivan, I wish I could talk right now, but-"

"I get it. Go," he said, letting go of my arm.

I nodded. "Thanks Ivan," I said and then ran forward.

I was close enough then.

I teleported and found myself at the base of the eiffel tower. Ladybug was scaling it quickly, swinging by her yoyo to get up faster. I grit my teeth. "Ladybug!" I called out.

She wasn't listening.

Dollmaker put the scissors to the doll's throat. "Ladybug," he sneered. "It's nice of you to join us."

"Let Nath go!" Ladybug snarled, getting her yoyo ready.

"Give up your miraculous and I will," he said in response.

"Please, Ladybug, save me!" the doll said.

"Hold on, Nathanael," she said to the doll. "I'll get you away from him."

"Ladybug!" I shouted, then teleported closer, landing on the frame ten feet below her. "Ladybug, it's not him."

She glanced at me then at Dollmaker.

Dollmaker grinned and put the scissors tight against the doll's throat, drawing a bit of what looked to be blood.

"You're quick, Ladybug, but not that quick. Your choice."

Ladybug's lip quivered. "Don't hurt him!"

"Ladybug," I said, as calmly as I could. "Trust me. It isn't him. It's a doll. Like earlier. It's not real."

Ladybug's gaze shot to mine, an accusing look on her face. "He's _bleeding_. Dolls don't bleed."

Dollmaker started laughing at that. "Which are you going to believe, Ladybug?" he mocked. "What your own eyes tell you or some stray fox you just met? This is the real Nathanael, right kid?"

The doll whimpered in response.

"You said you trusted me," I said. "Please don't tell me that was a lie."

For a moment there was silence, both of us waiting to see what she'd do.

She sighed in defeat then. "Alright, you win, Dollmaker," she said. "Let Nathanael go. Tikki, spots-"

"No!" I said, trying to get up to where she was.

"-off."

A bright surge of pink light enveloped Ladybug.

 _Help me, Vall!_ I silently prayed and swung my brush, reaching for her.

There was a jarring feeling in my chest and gut and then we were rolling head over heels on a nearby rooftop. I tried to protect her with my body from the worst of it as we came down hard, hard enough to make me lose my breath.

"No!" Marinette shouted, getting up. "No no no no!" She shot me a glare. "How could you, Ren? I almost _had_ him! Dollmaker was going to let him go!" She hobbled to the edge of the building. "Nathanael!"

"Shut up," I growled, surprising myself with how venomous my voice sounded. "Just shut up."

She seemed a little startled by that too, turning back towards me, the cast glaringly obvious in the darkening light. "Ren…" she murmured. "Your eyes-"

I pushed myself up painfully. "Why didn't you trust me?" I said. I could hear the hurt in my voice. "I told you it wasn't him. Why couldn't you trust me?"

Marinette froze, her blue eyes going wide.

I could feel the fox inside me. It was in pain. So much pain. It made me angry.

"That's Nathanael," she said, pointing. "I know him. That's him. He's my friend."

"Shut up!" I said. "Shut up about Nathanael for a minute and answer me. Why didn't you trust me? You said you did. Were you lying?"

Marinette shook her head, taking a step away from me. "No, I- I wasn't lying…"

"But when it came down to it, you didn't trust me!" I said. "What am I to you, Marinette?"

She seemed a little surprised to hear her name come off my lips.

"He's my friend," she said, as if she was speaking to someone younger than her, her voice slow. "I can't let Dollmaker hurt him, even if it means exposing myself."

"And your family?" I asked sharply. "Did you ask them if you should expose yourself? Subjugate them to danger? Did you? Your friends? Everyone you know? Adrien? If Hawk Moth finds out about you, it won't be hard to place him."

She froze in response. "I-I-"

"You didn't think about that, did you," I growled. "You didn't think about the consequences. You ran off to save your friend without even thinking of any of that. Why?"

"Because…" she paused, searching for the words. "Because…I… I don't… I'm not sure…" she said uncertainly.

"You think he'd appreciate being saved if it meant that you'd be hurt?" I asked. "You didn't trust me, Marinette. I told you it was a doll and still you…"

"I couldn't take that risk, Ren!" Marinette shouted, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "I love him too much to let that happen!"

I froze at that, my blood turning to ice. "You love him?"

"Yes, no? Maybe? I don't know. I just know that I could. Someday. I…" her voice choked up. "I couldn't take that risk, Ren. I know him. I couldn't just let him die." She pointed. "That's him. I know it is."

I mused a moment. I couldn't tell how I felt at that. I should feel happy, I decided. But there was something that…

"You might love him," I said softly. "Tell me honestly. What do you know of him?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"You're his friend, right? When's his birthday?" that should be an easy question. I'd turned into an akuma on my birthday.

"I… I don't remember," she mumbled.

"What about his favorite color?" I asked.

"All colors," she answered. "He's an artist."

"How long have you been classmates?"

"Um… a couple years?"

I closed my eyes. "Ladybug," I said, very softly. "You don't love him. You don't know him." I opened my eyes and pointed out at the tower. " _That_ isn't Nathanael. And you would know that immediately if you really cared about him. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Someone that shy wouldn't be that bold with a villain."

"I'm shy," Marinette countered. "I turn into someone else when there's danger."

"You have a miraculous," I scoffed. "And you're clumsy and socially awkward, but not shy. I wouldn't say you're bold, most of the time, but you are far from shy."

"I…" she paused. "I'm sorry, Ren… I… I couldn't…"

"You couldn't trust me," I surmised. "I shouldn't be surprised at this point."

"Ren?"

I straightened. "Rest up. I'm going to take care of this akuma myself." I began walking away from her.

"No, Ren," she reached over, grabbing my arm.

"You've done enough damage," I snarled. "Don't try to expose yourself like that again."

She let go and I shot her one last glare before I took off, going back towards the eiffel tower.

I knew now.

She was a liar.

I was in love with a liar.

She didn't trust me. She'd never trust me. She'd never love me.

I faltered and missed the next jump, losing balance and falling down onto the fire escape.

A small cry of pain escaped my lips as I landed on my bad leg.

I sat down heavily, grabbing it and pulling it close. My body was shaking and, for a moment, I couldn't understand why. And then I felt something wet on my face.

I was crying.

"I'm such an idiot," I murmured, pulling my legs close and burying my face in my knees.

" _Partners?" Marinette sang, sitting down next to me._

" _Renard Roux, I trust you," Ladybug said, her eyes alight with conviction._

" _Nathanael, I love you."_

In that moment, my fantasy broke.

The girl I loved would never love me back.

Maybe I wasn't even in love with her after all.

Maybe it was just the idea of her, the noble, kind, brave Marinette, secretly Ladybug, protector of Paris.

I was such a fool.

Why did I think I ever had a chance with her?

She'd never see the real me, no matter how close to her I got.

Because the real me… the me that she saw… it was just as much a fantasy as Marinette was herself to me.

And it was time I woke up.

…

About thirty minutes later, I was able to finally unwrap myself from my position. I moved methodically, hardly paying attention as I stood up.

That's right.

I still had an akuma to catch.

I could do this. All I needed to do was take down Dollmaker and then…

I didn't know what I was going to do.

I'd probably tell Vall I quit first.

… but even if I did, I'd still see Marinette at school.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. I needed to get my head in the game. Or Marinette would do something stupid.

There was a pang in my heart.

I didn't know how I felt about her anymore. Not after that stunt. But I wasn't about to go back on my word. I'd stay by her side. I'd protect her. Whatever it took. It didn't matter anymore if it hurt me.

I'd save Marinette.

I opened my eyes, taking a breath.

Full of renewed resolve, I scaled the building and tried the jump again. I found myself at the base of the eiffel tower before long, looking up at Dollmaker, who seemed rather bored at this point.

"You're back, fox?" he asked, a smirk on his bright blue lips.

"Maybe," I said in response, glowering at him. "Let's make this quick. I don't want to disappoint Ladybug."

Dollmaker laughed at that. "You're so funny, kid! Like I'd give up this power that Hawk Moth so freely handed over!"

"You said Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't protecting the city," I said sharply. "You said that was your reason for doing what you did. Don't you think by now you might be a little wrong?"

"Oh, I was wrong," Dollmaker said in response. "I should have killed you in the beginning. It would have made a lot more sense."

I spread my arms. "Take your best shot, Dollmaker." When he didn't move, I grinned. "That's right, you can't. Cause Hawk Moth is a villain, but he isn't a killer. And as long as you're an akuma, he's the one in control."

"Shut up, kid," Dollmaker growled, standing up. The doll of me moved to the side, out of the way for him as he took out his scissors. "I can do whatever I want. You hear me?"

"Sure, sure," I said. "You know, Hawk Moth did me a huge favor. Maybe I should take him up on his offer." I grinned. "But first, I'll take care of you."

Dollmaker growled and swung down then, landing below one of the arches. "I'm going to make you pay, fox. I'm going to make you pay for everything you've done."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "What have I done to you? What could I possibly have done that makes you hate me so much?"

He just ran up to me at that with a yell, swinging for my face.

I barely dodged out of the way, letting my instincts guide me. Fighting had never been my strong point. I wasn't athletic. I didn't usually exercise. I sat out during P.E. at school… but I knew I could do this.

I could fight Dollmaker.

I'd done it before when he was human.

I'd rested some since then.

I'd had my heart broken since then.

And I realized something very important to me. To who I was.

None of that mattered.

All that drama, wondering which side I was on, wondering whether or not I was in love with Marinette, wishing, hoping, thinking that she could possibly fall in love with me…

None of it mattered.

Because I was a fox.

I grit my teeth, the paintbrush expanding in my hands to its full size.

And foxes lived in the moment.

They were prey animals. Humans hunted them. They stole from humans.

But they were also predators, hunters. They were quick and clever and, most importantly, they were _free_.

In that moment, it clicked.

I pulled back my lips in a snarl, my ears going back sharply against my head. The fox and I were one and the same in that moment. There was no Nathanael. Just Ren. And Ren didn't have to be athletic to be dominate. He just had to win.

I brought my brush down sharply onto the ground, using it as a fault. I leapt up into the air, kicking out my feet and hitting Dollmaker squarely in the chest.

He stumbled back with the force of it, his extra arms reaching for me.

But I was still moving.

I landed in a crouch, taking the brush and flipping it over my shoulders, bringing it down sharply at him.

He dodged out of the way, as nimbly as a spider, looking surprised, almost shocked.

"Ren!" I heard a voice shout.

One of my ears twitched, but I was too focused on the Dollmaker to actually pay attention. Dollmaker took a step back, getting to work making another one of his dolls.

I wasn't going to let that happen though.

I let out a yell, swinging my brush. It hit the Dollmaker in the head as it came down and I lifted it again, bringing it down.

A hand gripped it from behind.

"That's enough, Ren!" I heard Ladybug say.

I froze, hearing her voice.

I looked to see her standing behind me, her eyes shadowed with sadness.

"Ren," she said softly, her blue eyes looking up at me. "He's already down. Don't do anything more. Please. Leave the rest to me."

I glanced down at Dollmaker. He didn't appear to be getting back up.

I was a little disappointed how fast that was.

I lowered my brush, putting the end on the ground.

"Alright," I growled.

"Where's his akuma?" she asked.

"Why should I tell you? You won't believe me anyway," I said venomously.

She winced. "I… I was wrong, Ren. Please, let me make it up to you."

I cast her a doubtful look. "In his scissors," I said. "At least I think that's where they are."

She nodded and picked them up.

"I need to cast lucky charm before I can purify it," she said in a low voice.

"Then do it," I said.

She nodded and then tossed her yoyo up in the air. "Lucky charm!"

It came back down as a small card, fluttering into her hand. She looked at it a moment then handed it to me.

 _I'm sorry_ it read, with a picture of a fox playing with a ladybug.

I didn't respond, just handing it back.

She took the scissors and brought them down sharply on her knee.

The akuma flew our and she, wordlessly, swung her yoyo, catching the akuma in the white light.

"Bye, bye, little butterfly," she said softly as it flew out, then she looked at me. "Are we okay, Ren?"

"No," I shook my head, watching as the Dollmaker turned back. "But I think we will be. Eventually."

"I guess that's all I should expect," she glanced up at the eiffel tower. "I do wonder where Nathanael is though…"

"Probably hiding somewhere," I said in response. "I'll take this guy to the police. You should… go home." I glanced at her leg. "And rest up."

She gave a slight nod. "I guess it was too much to hope that I wouldn't be hurt after, right?" She put a little weight on the leg, testing it out, then put some more, a frown on her face. "It's… it doesn't hurt."

"That's impossible. It was broken before the guy became an akuma," I said in response.

"No, really, Ren, it doesn't hurt! Which means- Chat!" she swung her yoyo then. "I'll catch you later, Ren!" She disappeared then, going away.

I sighed and then picked up the former akuma, carrying him over to where Sabrina's dad was.

"Here's the kidnapper," I said. "I hope you treat him well."

Roger nodded. "He's not going anywhere," he promised. He gazed at me evenly. "So you're a new hero?"

"I guess," I said.

"As long as you're helping Ladybug and Chat Noir, that's enough for me," he said.

"Well, I'll help them as best I can," I said in answer.

He shook his head. "They haven't been able to defeat Hawk Moth. It's been months."

"Yeah…" I muttered. "But hopefully not much longer. I… I need to go." I took off then, before he could respond.

I had one last stop to make before I went home.


	26. Chapter 26: Never Trust a Fox

I knew what I was.

I was a fox.

That fight was too short. It hadn't been fulfilling enough.

And I knew where a certain butterfly was hiding.

I paused on a rooftop to detransform, the night air sending a chill up my spine.

"Whew, that was intense," Vall commented as she popped out of the miraculous.

"You were aware of that?" I asked curiously.

She shook her head. "Only vaguely. I felt you connect to the fox. It was so strong… I almost thought you were going to kill him."

I blinked. "I… I don't think I would've."

Her amber eyes examined me a minute. "Perhaps not intentionally. But you were really drawing on me. You might have accidentally accessed my other powers."

"I thought you said it was safe," I said.

"I cautioned you to be careful," she reminded me. "I'm not saying be afraid of the fox. Far from it. Just… don't let it overwhelm you, okay?"

I was silent a moment. "What if I want it to overwhelm me?"

She bit her lip at that and floated over, touching my face. "It'll be okay, Nath. You're strong enough for this."

"Am I?" I asked. "I don't feel strong."

"You don't have to," she said softly in response. "You just need to _be_ strong."

I took a breath. "My mom's in danger. Marinette's in danger. What am I supposed to do?"

"Whatever you think is best," Vall said. "I'll stick by you. No matter what. I _chose_ you. I don't regret it."

I closed my eyes, letting her words comfort me.

I thought about my mother and Marinette and Ivan…

Ivan.

I opened my eyes. "I've got an idea."

She grinned. "Good."

"You up for one more transformation tonight?" I asked.

"Always," she assured me. "Do what you need to, Nath."

"Fox Trick," I said and she zoomed into my miraculous.

I was Renard Roux, the Red Fox. I looked to see if I had the brushes and blinked.

They weren't there, but I had something else this time.

Okay then. A change of pace, I supposed. Time for one last fight.

I took off at a run, jumping from building to building, letting my body guide me.

I was actually getting pretty good at it at this point.

I smirked. Vall would be proud of me.

I got to the building across from the large window, staring at Hawk Moth's lair a moment. It was rather beautiful. It would be impossible to mistake it.

I stepped back a couple feet, then took a running start, leaping across the street. The window seemed to open in reaction to my presence and I slipped in.

"I knew you would be back, Renard," Hawk Moth said.

I glanced around at the butterflies.

"What gave it away?" I asked.

"You're underappreciated by your team. It's obvious."

I nodded and pulled out my new toy. It extended in a matter of moments, turning into a bladed bow. "This is a lot more deadly than my brushes," I said idly. "I hope you're prepared."

Hawk Moth laughed and then lifted his cane. "You seem to have finally accepted the fox's true nature. Come at me, Renard Roux."

I charged then, letting the fox take over. As I got close, I feinted, avoiding a hit from Hawk Moth, flipping to the side. I drew back the bowstring on instinct. A shaft of light exploded out as I let the string go, flying directly at Hawk Moth, turning dark as it drew near.

He jumped out of the way and it hit the wall. The butterflies near it crumbled, dying.

It felt good.

I could feel the grin on my face, unable to keep it back.

Hawk Moth was laughing as he came close to me.

I blocked his next strike with the bow, then switched it around, using it as a melee weapon to get close.

The two of us were dancing.

But I was still losing.

I flipped backwards and took another shot with the bow. Not at him this time though, straight up, relying on my instincts.

Two more of me appeared behind him, taking strikes.

He raised his cane to block and I took another shot.

He was amazingly well coordinated, graceful.

Within the fox, however, I felt no fear or concern.

I actually appreciated the challenge he represented.

I could respect him.

I was tapping into Vall's potential. I knew that. I was calling upon her real nature, the death and deception she talked about.

And it felt way more natural to me than anything I'd done up until now.

I flexed one hand as my clones fought Hawk Moth.

Yes. This was right.

Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't beat Hawk Moth.

He was too powerful.

But the fox and the butterfly were meant to be together. They were opposites.

In that case…

The clones broke apart like glass and I stood up straight, lowering my bow.

"You said you'd give me what I wanted," I said.

"Yes," he said, turning towards me. "In exchange for your cooperation. Anything you want."

"Anything?"

He nodded.

"Fine," I said. "I want Ladybug. I don't care about the miraculous she possesses. I just want her."

Hawk Moth looked interested. "I see. In that case, I will do whatever I can to help you. Together, we can take the ladybug and black cat miraculouses and you can have your lady." He held out his hand at that.

I smirked. "You wouldn't be lying to me this time, would you? I've already been burned once."

"That was different," he said. "You were a pawn then. Now you will be my partner."

I took a step towards him, taking his hand. "Just remember," I said with a grin. "I'm not tame. If you try to go back on this, I will bite you."

He gave a nod. "I promise, Renard. You and me. We'll be the kings of this city."

I shook my head. "Not Renard. Please. Call me Ren."

* * *

Paris was buzzing with the news.

There was a new hero.

One clad in red and orange.

A fox.

The Red Fox.

Renard Roux.

He took down the Dollmaker by himself.

Maybe, just maybe he could stop Hawk Moth, once and for all.

But other people didn't share that sentiment.

They said that he was nothing but a bad sign. A bad omen.

Nothing good could come from foxes. They already had their heroes. They didn't need another.

How did they know he wouldn't turn on them?

How could they know?

I found it amusing.

All those tiny people and their ideas.

None of them could know.

They had no idea what was coming.

They didn't know the storm that my presence would bring.

Never trust a fox.

 _To be continued..._


	27. Author's Note

**Wow. This has been a long write. I hope everyone had as much fun reading it as I have writing it!**

 **Nathanael's turn to the dark side was the most fun. I wanted to balance him out so that it actually made sense in the story rather than just something angsty thrown in there because reasons.**

 **Honestly, I tried to end this on chapter 20, but you could see why that didn't work.**

 **The story isn't quite over though, just cause this portion is complete! Never fear, there's more to come.**

 **Part 2 is** ** _The Bee and Her King_** **and I'll have that out to you by next week, so stay tuned.**

 **I loved reading all your reviews and watching the number of followers increase. It was probably my favorite part, tbh. Special thanks to all of you who kept with me from the very beginning. Anyway, I didn't want to disrupt the flow by putting author's notes throughout, so here is going to be a big dump. For those that just wanted to know about the sequel, there it is.**

 **Still here?**

 **Okay.**

* * *

 **First, thanks to Pandamonky12 for the first ever review! It was so long ago, I'm sure you've forgotten by now, but thank you anyway.**

 **To riptidedarkphoenix, I definitely ship Nathanael and Marinette. I just think they're absolutely adorable. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to include that in this part cause, well, the story just didn't lend itself to them actually getting together. I may do a version or drabble of Nathanette in the future. Idk.**

 **Shiranai Atsune and Momijifan Low-Key, I loved your reactions. They really made my day.**

 **Nari-nee-chan, just make an account. Like seriously. I would probably pm you all the time if I could. You're like one of my favorite people that review this. I mean it.**

 **Also Kuroyuki no Ryu, I don't know what else to say, but srsly thank you. Your comments just always seemed to come when I really needed them the most.**

 **Chaton Jaune and Shiningheart of ThunderClan, you guys srsly crack me up.**

 **For everyone else that I wasn't able to get to with this... I read every single comment. So trust me when I say it was appreciated. The people above are the reason, however, that the fic got to be this long, so please say a thank you to them too.**

 **Anyway, thank you all. I look forward to the next part.**


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